A Change Of Heart
by anime.in.my.heart
Summary: 6 months away can change a lot...even a person's heart.
1. Six Months

'Let's pack it up and head home,' Erza called out to her teammates and their faces immediately lit up.

'Finally!' Lucy happily exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air.

'Free food!' Natsu cried with a wide grin and Lucy sighed.

'Is that really all you think about, Natsu?' she asked him sarcastically. 'We've been away for 6 months with no communication with the guild and all you can care about is food.'

'I am thinking about the guild. Each member represents food that I love,' Natsu responded thoughtfully as he began to compare his guild family to food. Lucy clapped her hand over her face, shaking her head. Natsu really was a special case.

'And Lucy is my favourite type of food,' Natsu finished off, his grin widening and catching the blonde-haired girl off guard. She stared at him wide-eyed before folding her arms and looking away to hide her red cheeks.

'You shouldn't say things you don't understand,' she muttered under her breath, confusing Natsu. That came as no surprise. He was clueless as to the implications his words could have, but Lucy had stopped taking what he said seriously long ago. Natsu was hopeless in the feelings department. Erza looked away from her two entertaining friends and eyed the rolling green hills before her. She took a deep breath in of the fresh air that surrounded them. It was so peaceful here in the little villages so far from their homeland. They had spent the last 6 months tracking and taking down secret dark guilds that had been hiding out in the area known as A Thousand Hills and they had finally completed their mission. It was going to be hard to leave this place, but Erza was looking forward to going back home. She smiled to herself. There was a particular blue-haired wizard she was excited to see again. She quickly shook this thought away as her face went as red as Lucy's and glanced at her two friends to make sure they hadn't noticed. Of course they didn't see. Lucy was too busy blushing and Natsu was too busy being oblivious. The fact that he kept asking Lucy why her face was so red, wasn't helping. Erza laughed softly and looked to the side. Her eyes fell on the 4th member of the team, sitting to the side and quietly packing his bag. The deep scowl on his face did not match the joy of his teammates.

'You're more quiet than usual,' Erza pointed out as she made her way over to the black-haired ice mage. His scowl deepened.

'I didn't know I wasn't allowed to be,' Gray mumbled under his breath.

'You can be. I just thought you would be happy to go home,' Erza said, not surprised by his hostile behaviour. Gray just clenched his jaw and continued to shove things into his bag. He wasn't in a talkative mood and he definitely didn't want to admit what was on his mind.

'Are you worried about heading home because of what happened between you and Juvia before we left for this mission?' Lucy suddenly asked, now ignoring Natsu who kept coming up close to look at her blushing face. This got a reaction from Gray. He instantly stopped packing, gripping his hands into fists.

'No it isn't!' Gray snapped at her. He wasn't about to admit she was right. Erza and Lucy glanced at each other knowingly. Natsu was the only confused one.

'What happened between you and Juvia,' Natsu excitedly asked, practically jumping to Gray's side to find out. It sounded juicy.

'Nothing,' Gray muttered, shoving Natsu to the side. Lucy and Erza glanced at each other again. Gray was a stubborn one.

'I don't think you need to worry. Juvia is way too in love with you to be ang–" Lucy started to speak, interrupted by a loud out burst from Natsu.

'What!' Natsu cried in shock, with his arms up in the air.

'Juvia loves Gray!' he continued to cry as Lucy rolled her eyes.

'Honestly, Natsu, you're so dense at times,' Lucy moaned at him, while Gray looked away, irritated.

'How was I supposed to know!' Natsu moaned back.

'You're the only one who didn't know!' Lucy pointed out, sighing to herself. She wished Natsu was a little more clued up on the subject of love. It would make things a lot easier for her.

Erza shook her head, amused. Natsu was his own kind of person. It definitely didn't make things easy for Lucy. Erza glimpsed at Gray, now with his back to them and his arms folded. Juvia didn't have it easy either.

Gray walked quietly behind his teammates, each step he took bringing him closer to the guild, closer to her. His body tensed at this thought. This was one time when he wasn't in any hurry to get back home.

 _You're so annoying! Why can't you just stay away? If you really love me, then leave me alone!_

Gray cringed. That was the last thing he had said to Juvia before he left after she had accidently broken a memento from Ur while following him. He hadn't meant any of it. He was just so angry. But Gray wasn't worried about Juvia being upset with him. He knew she wouldn't be. He was more worried about what crazy thing she would come up with to try to make it up to him. He would have to be on high alert from the moment he steps into the guild. And he wasn't looking forward to it.

'I see the guild!' Natsu shouted excitedly, running to close the gap between him and his home, with Lucy joining him. Gray did not join him. His stomach turned uneasily. He was in no hurry.

'Let's go,' Erza told him as she grabbed his arm, alarming him. This wasn't good. Gray felt himself being pulled to the guild against his will much faster that he would have liked. He tried to get out of Erza's grip, but she was too strong. He could only watch in displeasure as they caught up with Natsu and Lucy outside the guild doors. No!

'We're back!' Natsu announced as he pushed open the guild doors to a loud applause of celebration. Different voices came from every direction as their fellow guild members rushed to welcome them home. Gray wasn't ready for this. He turned to recoil from the impact and cries of a certain person he knew were coming. Nothing happened. Gray blinked blankly. That was unusual. He risked a glance, almost afraid that if he looked something crazy would happen, but it wasn't like that. He was greeted by many smiling faces belonging to the people he called his family. Gajeel, Levy, Wendy, Mirajane, even Laxus was there. But there wasn't any her. Gray scanned over the crowd of people. She wasn't anywhere in sight. This didn't comfort him. It only made him feel worse. She had to have something really big planned, bigger than he could even imagine.

This made Gray edgy. Every pat on his back, every welcome back hug made him jump, anticipating it to be her. But it wasn't. The cheers continued and still nothing happened. That was strange. She would never have waited this long. He was almost convinced she had some kind of Gray-radar that alerted her to his presence. So then where was she? Suddenly a thought came to mind. Of course! There was only one explanation possible. Juvia had to be away on a mission. She had to be. Gray breathed a sigh of relief. He was in the clear for now. He felt his enter body relax as he started to respond to the greetings from his guildmates. It was good to be home.


	2. Reunion

'Good morning,' Gray cheerfully greeted Lucy and Erza where they sat at one of the many tables in the hall of the guild. They both looked up at him surprisingly.

'You're oddly cheerful this morning,' Lucy pointed out, pretending to not know why.

'I had a really good night's sleep. It was actually one of the best I've ever had,' Gray responded as he stretched before sliding in next to Erza.

'Morning Gray,' Mirajane warmly welcomed him as she walked over with a plate of food. 'I hope you slept well.'

'I really did. It was great to be in my own bed,' Gray replied, watching Mirajane place the food in front of Lucy. The white-haired mage smiled in response to Gray as Lucy softly thanked her.

'Just the other day you were grumpy about coming home,' Erza casually muttered under her breath once Mirajane was out of earshot. Gray turned to glare at her, knowing very well where she was about to go with this, but he was interrupted by a loud voice echoing throughout the great hall.

'FOOD!' The voice screamed as Natsu basically jumped from the open guild doors to Lucy's side, startling her. She stared wide-eyed at him as he stared intensely at her hot plate of food. Lucy eventually rolled her eyes. If only he would stare at other things that way. She sighed to herself and pushed her food in front of the dragon-slayer.

'Here, have it, before you start drooling,' she told him, folding her arms out of annoyance. Natsu looked from her to the food in disbelief. Suddenly he threw his arms around her, taking her by surprise.

'Thank you, thank you, thank you!' he cried out, causing everyone in the hall to stare and Lucy to go blood red.

'You're the best!' Natsu shouted with praise as whisperings began to surround them, alerting Lucy to the attention they were starting to get.

'Don't say things you don't mean,' Lucy strictly told him and she shoved him away from her, hoping it would stop the whisperings and her red face. Erza and Gray both chuckled. Poor Lucy.

'I do mean it.' Natsu responded through a mouthful of egg. He never did get the implications of his ignorant actions. He wasn't even aware of Lucy's blood red face. He was now completely focused on the free food he had gotten. Lucy sighed to herself yet again. He really didn't get it. She eventually shrugged her shoulders and leant her chin in the palm of her hand, watching Natsu eat. At least he was happy.

'You might want to slow down fire–' Gray began to speak, disgusted by Natsu's eating manners. He didn't finish his sentence. His entire body froze as he caught a glimpse of blue hair. It was her. She was back.

'She never left,' Erza whispered to Gray as if she could read his mind. It wasn't like that. Erza just knew that the only reason Gray could be this relaxed was if he thought Juvia wasn't around. Gray looked at his scarlet-haired friend with raised eyebrows. That didn't make sense. Then why wasn't she trying to be all over him yesterday? That didn't matter. It would only be a matter of seconds before she noticed him. Gray immediately went into defence mode, ready to protect himself from her advances. He watched her walk over to the counter and smile warmly at Mirajane. He noticed how Juvia gently clapped her hands together in front of her and titled her head slightly in her greeting. Had she always done that? Gray quickly shook his head. That wasn't important. He had to focus if he wanted to avoid her springing onto him.

'I guess I should order another plate,' Lucy muttered to herself as she raised her hand to call over to Mirajane. No! Gray's body immediately tightened. Juvia would definitely notice him now. He tried to jump across the table to stop her, but the words were out of her mouth before he could. It was too late.

'What's your problem!' Natsu screamed as Gray came crushing into him. The impact caused the plate of food to go flying all over the two mages as Lucy and Erza jumped out of the way. Everyone stared. Gray knew that this meant Juvia was staring too. She had finally seen him. He didn't dare move. He didn't even react to Natsu's name calling and wanting to start a fight with him. Maybe if he stayed still, she wouldn't see him. He knew this was wishful thinking. He prepared himself for the worse. But he didn't get quite what he was expecting.

The entire guild burst into laughter and amongst it was a soft sound coming from the blue-haired girl. Gray stared at her. She was standing there, looking back at him with a tender smile of laughter. And that was it. That was all she was doing. There was no outburst of 'Gray-sama.' No arms flung around him. None of the usual. What was going on? Was she playing mind tricks on him? Gray felt something weird in his chest as he watched Juvia give him a little wave before she returned to her conversation with Mirajane.

 _Huh_. Gray felt like his head was going to explode with confusion. Juvia was acting out of character. Lucy and Erza noticed her strange behaviour too. This was so unlike her. They looked from the water mage to the ice mage, half expecting her to finally realise her precious Gray-sama was home and tackle him to the floor with affection. But she didn't.

'Maybe she really is…upset at Gray,' Lucy muttered to Erza, not completely believing her own words.

'Is that even possible?' Erza muttered back as Gray clenched his jaw. It's not like they didn't know he could hear them. He unclenched his jaw as both girls turned their gaze on him. That was never good.

'You need to go talk to her,' Lucy told Gray and he fiercely shook his head. That was the last thing he needed to do. He could only imagine what would go on inside her head if he approached her first.

'You have to,' Erza put in as she gripped his arm. Her words sounded more like a command than a request. Gray frowned. He knew what would come next. He felt a pull on his arm as he was forcefully pushed in Juvia's direction against his will. He stumbled a few feet behind the unknown blue-haired girl as Mirajane watched from behind the counter, amused. Gray refused to go through with this. He turned to quickly leave, but a glaring Erza stopped him. Really! It was either face Juvia or face the wrath of Erza. He was almost tempted to face the scarlet S-class mage. Another glance in her direction convinced him otherwise. It would have to be Juvia. Gray swallowed hard.

'Um, hi…hi, Juvia,' he mumbled, extremely uncomfortable from the situation he found himself in. She titled her head back and blinked blankly at him in response before her eyes widened with surprise. She clearly wasn't expecting him to greet her first. Gray braced for impact as her surprised expression started to fade. He could guess what expression would come next. Delight. Love. Obsession. His guess was wrong. All Juvia did was turn to face him with a gentle smile. There was that odd behaviour of hers again.

'Welcome back,' Juvia greeted him. Lucy and Erza's mouths both dropped open. That was it! Gray shifted his feet uneasily. He didn't know what was worse, Juvia's overreactions or her underreaction. He just knew he didn't like being in this moment.

'I heard you had a successful mission. Well done. It must–' Juvia continued to speak. Gray didn't hear pass that. I! Did Juvia really just use the word I? What was happening? She always spoke in the third-person. Now she was using words like I. Something was wrong. Lucy and Erza thought so too.

'Juvia–' Lucy tried to speak out to her friend, but her voice was drowned out by a louder voice.

'Juvia,' the unfamiliar voice echoed throughout the hall. The new sound even caught Natsu's attention and he looked up from the food he was trying to salvage from off the table. Lucy noticed Natsu sniffing up in the air. That meant that it wasn't just an unfamiliar sound, but an unfamiliar smell too. Lucy started to turn to see who the person was, but stopped when she saw Juvia's face light up. Gray saw it too. She had the expression of love on her face that he had come to try to avoid, but it was different somehow. This time it wasn't directed at him. Gray slowly turned to look at the person who was now making their way over to them.

'Blake,' Juvia happily responded with a voice full of affection. Lucy, Erza and Gray's eyes widened as Juvia joyfully embraced the stranger with sandy-blonde hair and green eyes. _Blake!_ Who was Blake?

'Oh, how rude of me,' Juvia said as she noticed her surrounding friends staring at what seemed like an odd scene to them. They didn't know yet. Juvia opened her mouth to continue speaking. None of them could have guessed what came next.

'Everyone, this is Blake, my boyfriend.'

 _Boyfriend_!


	3. Outbursts, Hesitations And Questions

'I still can't believe Juvia has a boyfriend,' Lucy muttered with her head resting on one of the many hall's tables. It seemed almost impossible to register such a thought. Erza sat next to her with her arms folded and a deep thoughtful look on her face. Natsu was on Lucy's other side. His eyebrows were scrunched together, clearly confused. Lucy turned her head to see his expression. It didn't surprise her. He barely understood the subject as it was.

'They have only been together for three months,' Mirajane informed them from across the table.

'What!' Lucy cried, lifting her head. 'That long already!'

'The fact that she even has a boyfriend who isn't Gray is unbelievable,' Erza pointed out. Mirajane nodded in agreement as she glanced down with a grim look on her face that the others did not see.

'I guess she took Gray's words to heart,' she whispered, gripping her hands together under the table. Lucy and Erza looked across at her, puzzled.

'What do you mean?' Erza questioned. Mirajane glanced at them.

'Remember how Gray told her that " _If you really love me, then leave me alone!"_ Juvia must have forced herself to move on for Gray's sake,' Mirajane explained as she bit her bottom lip. The others didn't notice this either.

'But wouldn't that mean that Juvia is possibly still in love with Gray,' Lucy spoke thoughtfully. Mirajane opened and closed her mouth. She decided against what she was going to say.

'Though Juvia really seemed in love with that guy,' Erza put in and Lucy nodded in agreement. Mirajane sighed.

'Yes, Juvia seems very in love,' she softly said. Her emphasis on a certain word caught the attention of the two girls in front of her and they turned their focus on the S-class mage yet again. Mirajane spoke again before either of them could get out one of their many questions.

'She smiles a lot and her face lights up when he's around, but…' Mirajane paused. She was hesitant to continue.

'But what?' Erza urged as Lucy edged forward a little. Mirajane bit her bottom lip again before shaking her head.

'I shouldn't. It's not my place to say. I should be happy for her,' she quickly muttered and shot up at the sound of her name.

'Let's go. The restaurant isn't going to keep our reservation for very long,' Laxus called over to her. Mirajane gave a soft nod. She was relieved to have a reason to leave. Lucy and Erza were not.

'Sorry, I have to go,' she politely said, excusing herself with her usual cheerful demeanour. It was as if her words from a second ago hadn't even been spoken.

'Wait, Mirajane!' Lucy called after her, but their white-haired friend was already heading out the door with her arm hooked around Laxus's. Lucy frowned.

'That was weird,' she muttered as Erza nodded.

'I don't get it!' Natsu suddenly cried out before either of them could say another word. Lucy jumped into Erza, startled by his unexpected outburst, while Erza stared at him with perplexity.

'I thought you said Juvia loves Gray,' he moaned. He didn't like this. It involved too much thinking. Lucy clapped her hand over her face and shook her head. Erza couldn't help but smile a little. That was so typical Natsu.

'Honestly Natsu, didn't you just hear a word Mirajane said?' Lucy asked him. Natsu stared at her as his confused face went blank.

'Huh? Was Mirajane here?' he questioned after a long pause of thinking. Erza burst out laughing and Lucy's mouth dropped open. _Unbelievable_!

'How did you not hear anything Mirajane said!' Lucy complained. Erza stopped laughing. It wasn't just about what Mirajane had said, but also about what she didn't say.

'Or what she didn't say,' the scarlet mage whispered, taking Lucy's attention away from Natsu.

'I wonder why she wouldn't tell us,' Lucy thought out loud. Erza shrugged.

'She was probably just trying to be a good friend,' she responded as Lucy pressed her lips together while Natsu folded his arms. He wasn't even trying to follow the conversation. Nothing they said made sense to him anyway.

'But if Juvia is happy then why wouldn't Mirajane agree with the relationship?' Lucy asked while holding the tip of her chin. It didn't make sense.

'Why indeed?' Erza muttered thoughtfully. How strange it was to see how six months away could change things.


	4. Pickles!

Gray walked the streets of Fiore with his hands in his pockets, trying to think of anything else other than what had just happened. But he couldn't. The memory kept playing in his mind over and over again. He could see clearly Juvia leaving the guild arm in arm with her boyfriend after she had introduced him without a glance back at Gray. How was that possible?

 _You're so annoying! Why can't you just stay away? If you really love me, then leave me alone!_

Gray stopped as his own voice echoed loudly inside his head. He sighed. He didn't mean to lash out at her the way he did. People say stupid things in anger. He sighed again. But he didn't apologise for his words either. He didn't think he needed to though. His harsh words had never bothered her before. The more he pushed her away, the tighter she hung on. That's how it had always been. But not anymore.

Gray quickly shook his head. It didn't matter! This was a good thing. Juvia was finally off his back. He wouldn't have to be on high alert all the time or look around every corner. He was free. She was happy. That's all that mattered. Gray smiled half-heartedly.

'But…' he muttered as he looked up at the blue sky. It seemed more blue than usual for some reason.

'I should apologise to her. It wasn't right what I said. It was mean,' Gray told himself. It was the right thing to do. He did feel bad for the way he had treated her. That was probably why he had a weird feeling in his chest. It would go away once he set things right. He took a satisfied step forward, but stopped when a new thought entered his mind.

What if it didn't make things better? What if she went back to obsessing over him again? This could all be part of her master plan. Gray quickly shook his head again. He knew that wasn't true. Juvia could be clingy and obsessive, but she was also sweet and honest. She would never use anyone for her own gain.

Gray clapped both his cheeks, trying to knock some sense into himself. He was really overthinking this all. They had been away for six months. Time was able to change a lot, even a person's feelings. Juvia was happy. Gray was free. That was all there was to it. He would apologise and that would be the end of it. There was no need to give it another thought.

Gray stuffed his hands back into his pockets and attempted yet again to continue his walk. He didn't get very far when he came to another stop. This couldn't be a coincidence. A few feet ahead of him stood Juvia, staring into the window of a shop, her eyes lightening up. Gray glanced through the shop window to see what had caught her liking. He smiled to himself without realising it. It was a hat. Juvia loved hats. He opened his mouth to address her. It seemed like a good enough time to apologise. He didn't get the chance. Before her name could escape his lips her boyfriend joined her at her side and handed her something. Gray scrunched up his eyebrows. A pickle! Juvia hated pickles. Gray smirked to himself. Some boyfriend that guy was. He waited for Juvia to reject the food. She didn't. She took it with a soft 'thank you,' and quietly nibbled on it. _What_! Gray stared at this with his mouth slightly open. He quickly closed it and folded his arms. It's not like he cared. He decided he was over the scene in front of him and began to turn away. Words he never thought he would hear Juvia say stopped him in his tracks.

'Are you looking at hats again?' Blake asked his water mage girlfriend.

'No, I don't like hats,' Juvia quietly answered. Gray's head snapped back in her direction. He watched in shock as Juvia emotionlessly turned away from the shop's window and smiled back at her smiling boyfriend. The two locked hands and walked off, neither aware of the stunned Gray behind them.

 _No, I don't like hats_. His mind couldn't quite register those words. They sounded so wrong spoken with Juvia's voice. They didn't match the sparkle in her eyes she had a moment ago as she stared at the shop's hat. Gray frowned. This wasn't right. She was using the word I. She was eating pickles. She was hating hats. This wasn't Juvia. She had changed, drastically.

Gray stared in the direction they had gone. He could no longer see them, but he couldn't stop staring. _Could six months really have such an effect on a person_? A new thought entered Gray's mind. He didn't like it. _Could words really have such an effect on a person_? Was that it? Did Gray's words drive her to such a change? He didn't want to believe that was true. Juvia had been fine the way she was.

 _What's wrong with her now_? A voice inside his head took him by surprise. It was right. He was overthinking this again. If she was happy, did it matter how much she had changed. Maybe the change was good…even for the best.

 _She was happy. He was free_. He reminded himself of this. That was all he had to focus on. It was Juvia's life after all. He didn't play a part in it anymore and it was better that way. And it wasn't his place to get involved in Juvia's private life anyway. Gray started his walk once again, convincing himself he was satisfied with the conclusion he had come to.


	5. Why?

Gray sat at the one end of the great hall of the guild, very much aware of the blue-haired mage who sat a few tables away. He glanced across at her every now and then, careful not to be seen. She was just sitting there, reading a magazine. It was the perfect opportunity. All he had to do was get up and go over. His stomach turned uneasily at this thought. This was much harder than he had anticipated. He didn't like these kinds of situations and he definitely didn't like awkward moments.

'Gray,' a voice suddenly took him by surprise as he saw Lucy walking towards him. She had a determined expression on her face. He really didn't want to know what it was for.

'What are you doing just sitting here?' she demanded with folded arms. She had just spent the past 10 minutes watching Gray glance at Juvia over and over again, thinking that no one was watching.

'Huh?' he muttered, confused. Lucy rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. Gray could be as dense as Natsu at times.

'Isn't there something you want to say to Juvia? Maybe something you realized because of a weird feeling in your chest?' she suggested, taking Gray by surprise.

'How did you kno–' Gray started to ask, but was interrupted when Lucy unexpectedly pulled him up to stand.

'Now get over there,' she told him as she gave him a hard shove before he could register what was happening. Gray stumbled forward and looked around to see who had noticed. Thankfully the hall wasn't very full and the water mage before him was fully focused on the article she was reading. He glanced back at Lucy who gave him a stern look and pointed forward. He glared at her in response, but she stood firm. He hated being forced to do things.

Gray turned to face Juvia. She still hadn't noticed him. He swallowed hard and opened his mouth to greet her. Nothing. No words came out. His throat felt so dry all of a sudden. Why was this so hard? All he had to do was spit it out. It was that simple. He wanted to say them anyway. He owed that much to Juvia and she deserved to hear them from him. And he wanted this weird feeling in his chest to go away. It was only getting worse the longer he stood there. He swallowed hard again.

'Um…hi…Juvia,' Gray mumbled uneasily. It already wasn't a great start in his mind. The unexpecting mage looked up curiously from her magazine. She was surprised to see Gray standing there.

'Oh, hi,' she greeted politely. Gray felt the weird feeling in his chest increase at her formal greeting. The guilt was getting worse. It was now or never.

'I'm sorry I lashed out at you before I went on the six month trip. I said mean things and it wasn't right. I shouldn't have said them. I'm sorry!' he spat out before he lost his nerve. It didn't sound as sincere as he had hoped, but he really did mean it. Juvia stared at him blankly before giggling. Why did that giggle unnerve him?

'You really don't have to apologise. It happened so long ago,' she assured him while waving it off with her hand. Gray shook his head. Six months wasn't that long ago.

'Still…it wasn't right…and I am…truly sorry,' he muttered, each word softer than the last. Juvia smiled and stood up. This was going completely different to how Gray thought it would.

'Thank you. It's now all in the past,' she assured him with another smile before walking off in the opposite direction. Gray watched her, feeling a bit weird about how it went, but in the end, she was right. It was in the past. Gray turned his back to Juvia. It was done. He had finally apologised and now that weird feeling could go away.

'That's it!' a voice shouted in his ear as Lucy jumped in front of him. He stepped back with his hands up in defence. He couldn't understand why she was so worked up as she glared at him. He had just done what she wanted him to do. Hadn't he?

'You were meant to declare your undying love to her!' Lucy snapped at a shocked Gray.

'What!' Gray cried as their uproar started to grab the attention of others in the hall,

'why would I do that?'

'Because you realized your love for Juvia after seeing her in the arms of another man,' Lucy informed him with red cheeks. Was he really that stubborn? Gray's eyes widened. So Lucy really had no idea what was going on. She was just making up crazy theories in her head. Her imagination was a scary thing. He shook his head. He needed to set things straight.

'I am not in love with Juvia,' Gray told her sternly. Lucy opened her mouth to argue, but he didn't let her.

'I don't know what crazy ideas you've come up with, but they aren't true,' he added with a firm expression, indicating the end of the conversation. Lucy didn't agree.

'Then why didn't you disagree with me when I spoke about the weird feeling in your chest?' Lucy demanded, stepping forward to stare Gray right in the eyes. He edged back, away from her penetrating glare. A little taken aback by her startling words. He couldn't even begin to try to understand how Lucy came up with such a crazy theory. Love of all things! That was the last thing he was feeling. And he certainly didn't plan on staying here any longer to hear any more about it.

'It didn't mean what you think,' Gray quickly said as he turned to get away. He didn't have to put up with this and he definitely didn't want to remain in this conversation.

'Yes it does!' Lucy shouted after him but Gray was sprinting through the open guild doors before she could finish her words. Lucy stomped her foot and flopped down on a nearby chair. He really was that stubborn. A gentle laugh from nearby caught her attention. She tilted her head back and saw Levy smiling at her.

'I think you may be over your head with this one Lu-chan,' the petite girl said warmly as Lucy sighed and put her head down against the table.

'You overheard all that,' Lucy guessed and Levy nodded even though her friend couldn't see her.

'I did and I have to say, I don't think…I don't think you're right with this one,' Levy hesitated in saying as she sat opposite the blonde-haired mage.

'Gray has never once given any indication that he is in love with Juvia. He's always pushed her away or tried to get away,' Levy added after a long pause of silence. Lucy slowly shook her head without looking up. They hadn't noticed what she had.

'I know it sounds made up, but it isn't Levy. You weren't there over the past six months. You didn't see it…' Lucy paused as she narrowed her eyes, remembering clearly certain memories.

'You didn't see how he would stop and just stare at water or how he would often mumble about the sky being more blue than usual or the way he would smile when we walked by a shop that sold hats. Sometimes I don't even think he realized what he was doing, but he did it,' Lucy whispered. She wasn't making this all up. She had seen the proof.

'Maybe he just likes water and hates, and the sky is blue,' Levy suggested and Lucy shook her head again, finally looking up.

'Juvia is a water mage and her hair is blue. Plus, she loves hats,' Lucy responded and Levy smiled half-heartedly.

'Well, not anymore,' she reminded the adamant celestial mage.

'Exactly!' Lucy cried, taking Levy by surprise and gaining glances from others in the hall. She ignored them. 'Am I the only one who finds that strange? Juvia not liking hats, how weird is that? Even more crazy, Juvia not loving Gray! How is that even possible?'

'People change when they start dating,' Levy answered, keeping her voice soft in hopes that Lucy's vigorous tone would calm down. Lucy didn't entirely agree with that.

'You didn't when you started dating Gajeel,' she pointed out and Levy immediately began to blush.

'That's…that's different,' she stuttered, covering her red cheeks.

'How?' Lucy questioned with raised eyebrows. Levy opened her mouth to respond.

'Well…because…it's just that…that…' she started to say, but she didn't have an answer.

'This isn't about me and Gajeel. It's about Juvia and Gray,' Levin quickly put in, wanting to take the focus off herself so she could stop blushing. Her face felt so hot.

'Why do you care so much anyway? It's their choice in the end,' she added as the warmth of her face started to cool. Levy glanced at Lucy when she didn't get a response and saw her staring at a certain fire-breathing dragon-slayer. Levy sighed. That was why.

'Maybe…maybe you're mixing up their feelings with your own,' she hesitantly suggested. She didn't want to upset her friend. Lucy shook her head and turned her attention back to the blue-haired mage.

'It's not like that. I know what it's like to love someone so deeply it hurts. In a way, I understood Juvia's great love for Gray. A love like that…it doesn't just fade or go away in six months. It's not possible,' Lucy softly said until her voice was only a whisper. She lowered her eyes to the floor, her feelings visible in them.

'And Gray, I know what it's like to believe that you can't possibly be in love with that person of all people. And how the things around you start to remind you of that person, without you even realizing it until one day it hits you in the face and you can no longer deny what you feel. Nothing is worse than not being able to act on those feelings or believing you have to pretend they're not there,' Lucy continued as she looked back at Levy with tears in her eyes, taking her friend by surprise. 'I don't want any of my friends to have to feel that way. That's why…that's why I want to help in any way I can.'

'Lu-chan,' Levy whispered with tears in her own eyes. She wanted to say more, but she never got a chance. I loud cry of Lucy's name filled the guild's hall, catching both girls off guard.

'Who made you cry?' the same voice demanded as the dragon-slayer jumped to her side in a matter of seconds. He stepped closer with his face inches away from Lucy's, startling her. Levy shook her head. He really was oblivious.

'Natsu, don't get so close,' Lucy moaned at him as she pushed his face away.

'Tell me!' he moaned back, completely unaware of her boiling red face.

'Lucy!' another voice cried and they all turned towards the guild doors. It was Gray. He stood there with wide eyes, not expecting to come back to the guild to find his friend in tears. This was his fault. She had to be upset because of him. He had just run out without resolving their argument first. He must have made her worry. Gray gritted his teeth. He needed to learn to control his tongue.

'Don't be upset. I'm sorry about earlier–' he tried to say as he hurried to Lucy's side. He didn't get the chance to finish.

'So it's your fault!' Natsu cut in, glaring at the ice-mage.

'Shut up! I'm trying to apologize fire idiot,' Gray glared back, the two ready to brawl while Levy stared on with big eyes. This all escalated quickly.

'What did you call me?' Natsu shouted. There were now two things Gray would pay for.

'Stop it!' Lucy suddenly screamed before Gray could respond. The noise and tension from a moment ago vanished as everyone turned their attention on Lucy. She was trembling. She was so fed up with both of them.

'You!' she shouted as she turned her penetrating glare on Natsu. The anger in his expression disappeared and he stared at her with his baffled face. Lucy gripped her fists. _Just say it_. _Just tell him_. But she couldn't. The words wouldn't come out. Curse that stupid baffled, adorable face of his. She clicked her tongue, annoyed, mostly with herself, and turned her glare on Gray.

'And you!' she shouted again, walking up to the wary Gray and sticking her finger in his chest. Lucy stopped with her face inches from his and lowered her voice so only he could hear.

'Why was it so easy to say sorry to me, but was so difficult to say sorry to Juvia?' she asked with a firm tone. The unexpected question took Gray by surprise. He had no answer. All he could do was stare back at Lucy. She groaned in response to his silence and tossed her hair over her shoulder as she turned to walk away.

Natsu didn't call after her. He knew better than to aggravate her more when she gave him that glare. She needed time to cool off. Gray didn't go after her either. But for a different reason than Natsu's. He was kept in his spot by the question that now occupied his mind. _Why was it so difficult_? There were many reasons he could think of – he was worried she would go back into obsessive mode, it was six months ago, it was awkward – but none of them felt like the right answer. None of them were the right answer. Gray frowned. That weird feeling in his chest was still there.


	6. Suggestions

Juvia pulled the brush through her hair as she stared at her hair through the mirror. She gently touched the tips of it. She sometimes missed her long hair. She quickly reminded herself that it was okay. He made her smile. Juvia put her brush down and turned to her hat stand. She stopped, remembering it was no longer there. She was still forgetting that, even though it had been over three months.

Juvia turned to look at her reflection again. It still felt strange not to wear hats. At times she even m–. Juvia paused. She shook her head before she could finish that word. It didn't matter. He made her smile. She didn't come home feeling rejected anymore. She didn't have to worry about him scowling at her. She knew she was loved…not like before.

 _But_ …knock-knock!

Juvia was pulled away from her train of thought by a knock at the door. She smiled and rushed to grab her scarf. Her hand stopped inches from it as a certain memory came to mind. She had once before knitted a scarf very similar to this one. Juvia shook her head again, forcing the memory away. It didn't help to focus on the past when she was working at her future. The knock came again and she left the scarf behind as she headed out the door.

'Morning,' a kind voice greeted her as she closed the door behind her. Juvia's smile widened.

'Good morning,' she greeted back, turning to face his gentle gaze.

'Ready for our walk?' Blake asked as he held out his hand. Juvia nodded and happily entwined her fingers with his. They headed outside where the sun was shining, but the air was cold. Juvia shivered a little and Blake looked at her curiously.

'How come you're not wearing a scarf?' he questioned as he put his arm around her. He felt her body stiffen. Juvia simply shrugged, keeping her focus in front of her.

'No reason,' she softly answered. Blake frowned. He knew what that really meant. He pulled Juvia closer and rubbed her arm to try to keep her warm.

'You don't need a scarf anyway. You've got me,' Blake told her as she smiled at this. That was true.

'So, maybe no more wearing scarfs?' he suggested as he felt Juvia's body stiffen again. He didn't like that response, but he kept back his feelings as not to upset Juvia. She knew why he suggested it. He was doing it for her. He was doing it for them, for their future together. Juvia nodded. She would have to remember to add scarfs to the list. It was okay though. It was all for the best. He did this to help her. She deserved to be in love with someone who loved her back.

Blake looked away from Juvia. In the distance, he could see the great building that was the fairy tail guild. That would be their very last obstacle to overcome. There was only one way a future together could be secured, especially since that guy was now back. But he knew Juvia wasn't ready for that suggestion yet. It would still take time to get her to that point. It would be a hard thing for her to do, but in the end, when the time was right, she would see it was for the best.

'Would you like to go somewhere for a hot drink?' Blake asked Juvia and her eyes lit up. He smiled. Distracting her from her thoughts usually worked. Juvia nodded.

'We could go to the guild.' She suggested. Mirajane made the best hot drinks. Juvia didn't notice Blake's smile fade. He didn't like going there nowadays as much as he used to. This was a tough one. He could tell Juvia really wanted to go and he wanted her to be happy. But he had to do what was best for them.

'Maybe–' he started. He didn't get the chance to finish.

'Blake!' a voice cried as one of his fellow co-workers came running to him. He stopped with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

'Huge scoop, boss wants us all covering it now,' he said through deep breaths.

'What's happening, Mack?' Blake quickly questioned as Mack stood up straight and his eyes lit up.

'Natsu,' he simply answered with a smirk. Juvia giggled. He probably burnt something down again. Blake pressed his lips together to stop his frown. Fairy tail was always coming up in their lives. And with fairy tail, came him.

'Do we all have to cover it?' Blake asked, glancing at Juvia, reluctant to leave. Mack nodded and Juvia smiled at her boyfriend.

'It's fine, I understand,' she kindly assured him. Blake smiled back at his understanding girlfriend. She really was amazing.

'Thank you. I'll see you later,' he told her as he quickly kissed her on the cheek before following an excited Mack. Juvia watched them disappear into a crowd of people as she caught hold of a scent in the air that wasn't there before. It was smoke. She giggled again. This was definitely Natsu and she was sure that whatever he had done, master would not be happy. She stepped forward to start her way to the guild with a cheerful expression. It was good to have team Natsu back. Her eyes widened at this. She quickly dismissed the thought. She couldn't think things like that.

 _I love you Juvia and I'll do anything to earn your love back. That's why I'll suggest things I believe will help you to move on and learn to love another, but you have to try your hardest to do them. It's the only way_. Juvia remembered Blake's words perfectly. Having thoughts like the one she had just had was not helping. She had to try harder. Maybe going to the guild right now wasn't the best choice. Juvia decided it would be better to go elsewhere.

'Juvia,' a sweet voice called out to her, taking her by surprise. She looked behind her to see Lucy waving as she approached the blue-haired girl.

'Oh, hey Lucy,' Juvia warmly greeted her smiling friend.

'Are you also on your way to the guild?' Lucy asked Juvia and she shifted her feet uneasily in response. Lucy noticed. That was definitely a 'no' then. Lucy frowned. She had to change Juvia's mind.

'I was on my way there too, we can walk together,' Lucy suggested, but Juvia still looked hesitant.

'We haven't really had time to catch up since I got back and I hear someone has a boyfriend,' Lucy added, nudging her friend playfully. That did the trick. Juvia's whole face lit up at the mention of Blake. Lucy didn't feel like it was much of a win. She didn't want Blake to be the reason Juvia agreed to come with her. But he was the reason. Maybe it wasn't so bad. If Lucy wanted to help, she would first need to understand how this relationship started.

'Yeah, a catch-up sounds good,' Juvia agreed. If she was talking and thinking about Blake, then going to the guild should be fine.

'So, how did you meet?' Lucy inquired as the two friends started on their way to their guild.

'Well, he's a writer for Sorcerer Magazine and he came to the guild to do an article on the girls of fairy tail. He says it was love at first sight for him,' Juvia began to explain with a tender smile. Lucy noticed that it didn't last long.

'I took a bit longer,' Juvia quickly added, clearly avoiding eye contact with the celestial mage. Lucy wasn't oblivious as to why it probably took Juvia longer.

'So you didn't love him straight away?' Lucy questioned, pretending not to know why. Juvia shook her head.

'But I wanted to,' she softly responded. Lucy quickly glanced at her. Juvia had her eyes lowered to the floor. The light in her face from a moment ago was gone. Lucy looked away with a frown. Juvia looked sad.

'But it all worked out in the end,' the blue-haired mage continued cheerfully, surprising her friend. Lucy stared at her. Juvia's cheerful expression felt misplaced. It couldn't be possible to go from sad to happy so fast. Lucy opened her mouth to speak. It felt so wrong to see Juvia like this.

'We're here,' Juvia happily pointed out before Lucy could get a word out. Lucy looked at her friend blankly and Juvia pointed forward. They were at the guild. Lucy stared into the noisy hall full of people. She sighed to herself. Now wasn't the time to try to speak to Juvia about a certain ice mage.

'Shall we find a table?' Lucy said instead with a sweet smile. Juvia smiled back and nodded. They walked into the busy guild, neither aware of the ice mage who had stopped dead in his tracks. He jumped behind the counter when the two girls turned in his direction. This time it wasn't to avoid Juvia. It was to avoid Lucy. After what happened yesterday, Lucy was the last person he wanted to run into right now. Not because he was upset with her, but because seeing her only made him think of her question to him. And he hated that question. It wouldn't leave him alone. It kept ringing inside his head over and over again. It was frustrating and it only made the weird feeling in his chest worse.

'Gray?' a voice interrupted his thoughts and he looked up into Mirajane's confused face. This probably looked odd to her. He quickly stood up, rubbing his head awkwardly.

'Gray!' another voice called out before he or Mirajane could say anything. Gray recognized the voice instantly.

'Erza,' he thought to himself. Her tone made him worry. He quickly tried to think of a reason Erza would be upset with him. His body stiffened. She probably heard about yesterday – the almost brawl with Natsu and him upsetting Lucy. He was in for it now.

'I've been looking all over for you,' Erza told him as she marched over. Gray swallowed hard.

'Master wants to see you,' she added, surprising him. That was it. He let out a sigh of relief as Erza guided him to a small room just off of the hall. He was worrying for nothing. Erza wasn't mad at him and he had a reason to walk right passed Lucy and Juvia without having to say a word.

'What luck,' he thought to himself with a grin as he opened the door to the small room. His grin immediately vanished. He spoke too soon. Waiting in the room wasn't just master, but Juvia too. Why was she here? He tried to think of a reason to rush out, but master's strong gaze kept him in his place.

'Now that you're here Gray, we can get started,' Makarov addressed them both as he looked at Gray, waiting for him to walk to Juvia's side. That was the last thing Gray wanted to do. That growing weird feeling in his chest kept him from stepping forward. Erza didn't give him a choice though. She gave him a hard shove as he stumbled forward and Erza closed the door behind her. Gray risked a glance at Juvia. She wasn't looking at him. Her focus was on master. Gray turned his focus on Makarov too, trying to ignore the question in his mind and the annoying feeling in his chest.

'There is a small village a day's journey from here that has been having problems with the ground beneath their village heating up to a point where even their lake starts to boil. Now, I don't want Natsu catching word of this, that village is heated up enough as it is, so this mission will be extremely discreet, which is why you will leave immediately without a word said to anyone. I believe an ice mage and water mage are best suited for this kind of mission, which means I'm only sending just the two of you,' Makarov explained. Juvia's eyes widened. _Just the two of you_! Gray's eyes widened too. _Just the two of us_!


	7. But

Gray stared out the window of the train with his chin resting in his hand. He hadn't moved a muscle in over four hours and his body ached in objection. But he refused to move. The situation he found himself forced into had brought this upon him. He had tried to give every reason he could think of to get out of it, but Makarov wouldn't hear it. The master was adamant about his decision. A decision that now had the ice mage sitting opposite the water mage in awkward silence.

Gray finally moved. He couldn't keep still anymore. The pain in his body immediately subsided and he let out a quiet sigh of relief. He glanced at Juvia, every intention to look away, but her expression kept his attention. It was emotionless as she too stared out the window, watching everything rush by in a blur. Gray looked away. Her expression hadn't changed from the moment he had met her at the train station to now. Gray put his hand to his chest and frowned. That weird feeling got worse at this thought. It didn't like that expression of hers. _He didn't like it_. Gray's eyes widened. Where did that thought suddenly come from? He quickly shook his head and stood up. He needed to get some fresh air.

'I'm going for a walk,' Gray mumbled as he walked away before Juvia could respond. He doubted she would have even responded anyway. She wouldn't look at him, let alone speak to him. _It's not like he made an effort to speak to her either_. Gray cringed at this. That was true. The most he had said to her was when he had apologized. The rest of the time he just tried to avoid her. He didn't know why though. It was like he had said before, he was free. She was in love with someone else. He didn't have to avoid her. But he did.

Gray pulled open a door and walked out onto the back of the train. The rushing wind wasn't as refreshing as he had hoped it would be. Why? Why was he avoiding her? Maybe it was out of habit. After so many years of having to be wary of her. Gray leant against the railing. That wasn't it. Perhaps it was because of Lucy's question. Gray shook his head. That wasn't it either. It could be because of the feeling in his chest. Gray grimaced at this. He didn't like that. But that too wasn't the answer. He no longer just had the feeling when he was around Juvia. It was all the time now. Gray turned around and leant his elbows on the railing. He tossed his head back and watched the clouds above rush by. _The sky is really blue today_. For someone he thought he was free of, he sure spent a lot of time with her on his mind. Gray's head shot up. He didn't mean that! She wasn't on his mind. People forced her on his mind.

That's it! Gray pushed away from the railing and stormed inside. He wasn't going to let people effect his thoughts or feelings anymore. He made his decision. Juvia was no longer going to occupy his mind. And that was final! Gray walked into his compartment of the train with a determined expression. It disappeared the moment he saw Juvia. She was no longer staring out the window with an emotionless expression. Her eyes were now lowered to the floor and her hands were gripped tightly together. She didn't look like the Juvia he had left six months ago. The feeling in his chest throbbed at this. Gray tried to ignore this. He looked around unsurely. No one else was there. He could quietly back away and Juvia would never know. He took a step back. _No_! He couldn't do it. It would be so wrong. He couldn't leave her alone like this. She was his comrade. _She was his comrade_. That was all it was. And it wouldn't be right not to help a comrade. That wasn't the way of fairy tail.

Um,' he hesitated. Lucy's question was screaming inside his head. Apparently it wasn't just 'sorry' he found hard to say to Juvia. He attempted to push this aside. He needed to focus on helping a fellow guildmate.

'Is…is everything okay, Juvia?' Gray asked awkwardly as he sat down in front of her. His presence took her by surprise. She stared at him for a moment before quickly nodding her head.

'Y-yes,' she softly answered, looking away timidly. He was speaking to her! She didn't like this. It was okay when there were other people around, but not when it was just him.

'Okay,' he muttered in response as he leant back and folded his arms. She obviously didn't want to talk about it and he wasn't going to force her. The feeling inside didn't like this. Gray groaned under his breath. This stupid feeling didn't like a lot of things and he didn't like it! Juvia glanced at him. She knew that expression of his all too well. He looked annoyed. It was probably with her. It was probably because she didn't want to speak. What should she do? She bit her bottom lip. She felt so conflicted. Being alone with Gray wasn't making anything easier for her and she wasn't even able to talk to Blake about it.

 _But_. Juvia shook that thought away. Gray noticed. He wanted to ignore it, but the feeling inside wouldn't let him. He groaned again. This was so troublesome!

'Are you shaking your head for a reason?' he asked grudgingly without looking at her. His voice took her by surprise again. She hadn't expected him to say more. Juvia looked down at her gripped hands. Blake wouldn't agree with this. She glanced up at Gray. He was watching her now, probably waiting for an answer. Juvia quickly looked away. She had to say something. She would only make things worse if she kept quiet.

'No,' she whispered, unable to speak louder. Gray rolled his eyes and looked away. He tried. Juvia frowned. Was that really the best she could do? When Gray first arrived back home after six months, she was able to face him and speak with such confidence. It didn't last long. What had happened to her confidence? Juvia frowned again. Maybe it was never really confidence she had had. Maybe she just got really good at pretending. Juvia quickly shook her head again. She shouldn't even think that. It wasn't true. _She was happy_. _She was loved_. Juvia needed to remember that.

 _But_.


	8. Still

Gray coughed due to the smoke from the train as he stepped onto the small platform. He stared at the old, rundown station and raised his eyebrows. There was no one here. It was just him and Juvia. His body tensed at this thought. He was hoping that once they reached the train station, he wouldn't have to be alone with her anymore. He was wrong. The awkward atmosphere was just going to continue. Gray sighed. This was beginning to feel like the longest mission ever!

Juvia stood a little behind him and gazed around at their surroundings. They were still completely alone. Her stomach turned uneasily. She tried to push this feeling aside and focused on their surroundings again. She needed to remember that this was a mission. Juvia took in an unsteady breath.

'It's…it's hot here,' she muttered timidly with her eyes to the ground. Gray glanced at her, his eyebrows raised in surprise. He didn't expect to hear her speak, especially first. It was an improvement from the train ride. Juvia looked up when she didn't get a response. Her eyes widened at what she saw. Gray was smiling at her. It was a small smile, but it was still there. She didn't see that often, at least not when it came to her. Gray quickly realized what he was doing and looked away. That was a mistake. It had to be. He just wasn't thinking properly. Juvia speaking to him wasn't a big deal. It didn't even sound like she wanted to speak to him. _Still_.

'Yeah, still,' Gray thought out loud before he could stop himself.

'Huh?' Juvia blinked blankly as Gray froze. Why did he just say that? _Out loud_!

'Did you say something?' the water mage reluctantly asked. Gray shook his head fiercely.

'No,' he muttered as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Something inside him wanted to scream out in disagreement. It was that darn feeling again! Gray tried to refuse to listen to it. It only messed with his head and made him feel confused. He was distracted from this when Juvia stepped forward to examine the small shop of the station. It was empty. She knew it would be. She just wanted to put distance between her and Gray. He was in one of his hostile moods. It was probably her fault. She always seemed to have that effect on him.

Juvia also tried to convince herself that she walked ahead for the sake of her relationship. Blake came first in her life and they had a list to follow to help them move forward together. Putting distance between her and Gray was on that list. And it was probably for the best. It would make him happier. Juvia frowned. When she said 'him,' she was speaking about Blake. _Right_?

Gray watched Juvia. She looked down. He rolled his eyes. He wanted to believe it was because of the frustrating situation he found himself in, but it wasn't. He knew it wasn't and he didn't need any feeling in his chest to tell him that. He had upset Juvia…again. And as much as he didn't want to admit it, that bothered him. Gray stopped to consider this. He really didn't like to admit it, but not even his stubbornness could force him to ignore that truth.

'I'm…I'm sorry,' he mumbled, shifting his feet uneasily. This apologizing thing still wasn't easy to do. _Only when it came to Juvia though_. Gray ignored this thought as the water mage turned around to face him.

'We're on a mission together and we're comrades. I don't want…I don't want things to be like this,' Gray continued. It was so awkward to say those words, but he swallowed his pride and did it. It had to be said. It was the right thing to do. They could never complete this mission successfully if they carried on like this. Juvia stared at Gray with big eyes. She hadn't anticipated that. He was right…but what about Blake? He would never agree to this. She didn't want to do anything that upset him. Juvia lowered her eyes to the ground timidly.

 _But_.

 _Seriously_! Gray couldn't believe it. After what he said, she was still going to act the same way. He folded his arms and looked away, annoyed.

'Blake...Blake doesn't like me…talking to you,' Juvia nervously admitted. Gray's head shot in her direction. That was the last thing he had expected to hear from her. That was the last thing she had expected to say. But it was said. She couldn't take it back. And she didn't really want to admit it, but a part of her didn't want to take it back.

'Why?' Gray asked. It was a silly question. He already knew the answer, but he couldn't think of any other response. Her statement had completely caught him off guard. It wasn't what she had said, but the fact that she actually said it. Her words made sense to Gray though. No one could really blame Blake for that, taking in consideration Juvia's track-record towards the ice mage. Still…they belonged...to the same guild…avoiding each other was impossible. And Juvia had moved on. Blake should be happy with that. Gray felt his chest suddenly tighten. It was strange. The feeling inside hadn't reacted like that before. He tried to push it aside. He couldn't. It wasn't like the other times, it was too strong to just ignore. He had to distract himself.

'It shouldn't matter anymore,' Gray told Juvia. This didn't help. His chest continued to tighten. What was happening?

'We're comrades, aren't we?' he asked her, trying his hardest to ease the tension in his chest. Juvia stared across at him, stunned. _We're comrades, aren't we?_ The question rang loudly inside her head. It had taken her by surprise and made her realize something. Juvia was being selfish. At least that's how she saw it. This whole time she was only focusing on herself, on her needs. But this wasn't about her. It wasn't even about Blake. This was for fairy tail. Juvia smiled slightly. Gray noticed this and the pressure in his chest instantly relaxed.

'Yes, we are,' Juvia softly agreed and Gray smiled in response. This time, it was on purpose.

Lucy sighed as she walked down a street towards the guild. She glanced at her boisterous companion next to her and sighed again. Yet another unpaid mission because of his over-the-top antics. She really didn't know how she was going to afford to pay rent now. And Makarov! Lucy grimaced. He really wasn't going to be happy.

'Would you stop celebrating!' she snapped at the fire-breathing Natsu. His flames died out and he looked at the blonde-haired mage, confused.

'We were victorious, why are you so upset?' he asked Lucy and she puffed her cheeks out at him.

'No, we weren't, we didn't get paid,' she reminded the dragon-slayer and he simply shrugged.

'But we caught the bad guy,' Natsu pointed out as his companion rolled her eyes.

'After you burnt down half the town,' Lucy said sharply. Natsu sniggered in response, shocking Lucy. She didn't know why she was so surprised. This happened all the time. It wasn't that he did it on purpose. He just got so…so…so fired up. Lucy sighed for the third time. What did she see in him? This question was immediately crushed as Natsu opened the door to the guild to let her in. She smiled to herself. That was just one of the many reasons. Lucy stepped in, ready to greet her friends. She didn't get the chance. Two loud voices drowned out any greeting she had in mind and she stared at Makarov and Blake shouting at each other.

'Just tell me where Juvia is!' Blake shouted, glaring at the old man.

'No!' the fairy tail master shouted back.

'I need to know she's safe!' Blake cried out. He hated not knowing where Juvia was. He knew she was strong, but he couldn't help but worry. He just cared about her so much.

'She's safe,' Makarov cried back, getting fed-up. They had been at this for ten minutes and the annoying writer in front of him just wasn't giving up. He was really working on Makarov's last nerve.

'You don't know that!' Blake snapped. This wasn't like him. He would never dream of being so disrespectful, but Juvia was all that mattered to him. It made him uneasy to be apart from her. And there was something else that troubled him. It was something he didn't like. But he'd noticed that a certain ice mage wasn't around.

'Please tell me!' Blake begged, pushing the master to his limit.

'She went on a secret mission to Backburnt village with Gray!' Makarov burst out before he could stop himself. He just wanted Blake to go away.

'What!' two voices screamed at the same time. The hair on the back of Makarov's neck stood up. He knew the one voice very well. He turned towards the guild doors and saw a furious looking Natsu standing there.

'You sent Gray on a secret mission and not me!' he shouted as Lucy took a cautious step away from him. Natsu looked like he was about to explode. Makarov gritted his teeth. He didn't expect the brats back so soon from their mission. It was never a good sign to have them back earlier. Makarov rubbed his forehead. He was getting a headache. He completely forgot about the writer standing before him as the master's attention went to Natsu.

Blake stood very still. His heart pounded heavily in his chest. Juvia was on a mission with Gray. _Gray_! This was bad. He had to go to her before that ice mage could undo anything Blake had worked so hard on for their future. He didn't need to do it for himself, he needed to do it for her, for them. Juvia would understand. She would want him there. She needed him. And he needed to make sure she still knew that. Blake dashed out the guild. He went unnoticed as everyone had their focus on the complaining dragon-slayer.

'I'm going to find him!' Natsu declared as he turned to leave. Lucy jumped in front of him to try to stop him. It wasn't necessary. A giant hand came crashing down on him.

'You will do no such thing!' the master shouted at the hot-headed mage.

'Let me go!' Natsu moaned as he tried to get free, but everyone in the guild hall knew it was a useless attempt. He wasn't going anywhere. Lucy put her hand over her face and shook her head. He really was out of control sometimes. She bent down and rested her chin in her hand, waiting for the struggling Natsu to realize her presence. It didn't take long. He stopped trying to get free and glanced at her curiously.

'You need to listen to master,' Lucy told a dissatisfied Natsu. He frowned.

'But it's not fair!' he whined and Lucy rolled her eyes. He was like a little kid at times.

'This is a coincidence, but it will be good for Gray and Juvia to have some time alone together,' Lucy said, trying another angle to get Natsu onboard. It was a complete stroke of luck that they were sent on a mission together, but now that Lucy knew about it, she wanted to keep anyone from interfering.

'Then why does that Blake person get to go?' Natsu demanded. Lucy stared at him blankly before her head shot in the direction of their master. _Oh no_! Blake wasn't there! She turned her head in every direction, knowing it was pointless, but still hoping. He wasn't anywhere in the guild hall. Lucy stood up and turned towards the open doors. She had no doubt where Blake was heading.


	9. Water, Fire, Ice

Gray looked up at the cloudy sky as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. The weather above did not match the scorching heat they were enduring. Gray took in a deep breath. The closer they got to the village, the more intense it got. He pulled at his shirt uncomfortably. Usually he wouldn't have it on still, but he was very much aware of the water mage behind him. Things had just gotten not-so-weird between them and he wanted to keep it that way. He had no desire to go and create an awkward moment. But it was so hot. Gray wiped his forehead and glanced up again. He would do anything to have those clouds give rain. Splash! _Huh_? Gray felt a raindrop splash against his face, and then another one, and another one, until it was pouring with rain. It didn't completely take the heat away, but it certainly brought some relief. The ice mage spun around to see Juvia's reaction. She was smiling at him and his eyes widened.

'This is your doing?' he guessed and she gave a soft nod of her head. _Of course_! Why didn't he think of that? He's an ice mage after all. Gray chuckled to himself. The sound surprised Juvia a little.

'Well, you're definitely the smarter one out of the two of us,' he joked, catching the water mage off guard before she smiled to herself. It was a little out of character for Gray to be at ease in such a situation. Perhaps the rain washed away at his stubbornness for that moment.

'I'm sure you would have thought of it,' Juvia responded, trying to not sound timid. There was a real struggle going on inside of her, but she did all she could to keep focused on two things. This was a mission. And Gray was her comrade.

'I don't think ice-make: floor would be much help,' Gray pointed out as he glimpsed down at the ground where steam was now coming from. Juvia bent down and gently touched the ground. She immediately pulled her hand away as it throbbed with pain. It was still boiling hot. The rain didn't cool it down at all. She frowned at her red hand. _How strange_. Just a simple touch and it was already burnt. Juvia cringed at the pain it caused. She was distracted from this when she felt a presence step right in front of her and she looked up into Gray's dark eyes. He was close. _Too close_! She wanted to step back, but she never got the chance. Before Juvia could do anything, Gray gently put his hands over her burnt one and muttered something under his breath. Instant relief came as the ice wrapped around her hand, soothing the pain.

Gray kept his focus on this. He didn't dare look at Juvia. He didn't dare think about how soft her skin was or how her hand seemed to fit into his. _Darn it_! He felt that feeling in his chest intensify. But it wasn't alarming this time. It was rather welcoming. Gray tried to ignore this. He couldn't. His ears rang with a pounding noise. It was probably a headache from all this overthinking. He knew that wasn't true though. He knew what the pounding noise really was, but he didn't want to admit it. He wanted to get out of this moment and all he needed to do was just step back. He didn't though. He couldn't. Juvia needing his help was more important than whatever struggle he was having inside. That's how he got into this situation in the first place. She needed him… _his help_. She was his comrade after all. The feeling inside was unsatisfied with this. It was more than that. _She was his friend_. Gray stopped his thoughts there. That was as far as it went. She was his friend. That was it. There was nothing more to it.

'Better?' Gray asked her in order to distract his mind. Juvia nodded and he stepped back. They both stared down at her hand. The redness was gone and the pain was barely there. Gray smiled a little and turned to walk on. Juvia stared at the back of him. He didn't have to do that. She could have used the water to ease the pain, but it wouldn't have healed it like the ice had just done. He probably knew that. She gently touched her hand and smiled tenderly. In that moment there was no concern of what Blake would think or what she would feel. There was only gratitude.

'Thank you,' she spoke out to him, stopping him in his tracks.

'It's what friends do,' he simply shrugged without looking at her. Juvia's eyes widened. _Friends_? He didn't use the word comrades. He didn't help her because of that. He did it because he saw her as a friend. Juvia frowned. It was more than she let herself see him as. It wasn't fair to limit him like that. There was nothing wrong with being friends. _Just friends_. That was it. There was nothing more to it.

'Yeah, it is,' Juvia agreed as she rushed to his side and walked beside him, surprising the ice mage. He looked away and smiled to himself. It was good to be just friends. Juvia smiled too. She no longer felt guilty or uncomfortable. There was no reason to.

'I wonder how much further till we get to the village,' she thought out loud.

'It can't be too much…' Gray started to say. He immediately stopped and turned to the side. The rain stopped too. Juvia sensed it as well.

'Ice-make: shield!' Gray shouted as he jumped in front of Juvia to protect them both from the fire balls flying towards them. The attack hit the shield with a strong force and shattered the ice. Gray dived out the way, taking Juvia with him as the fire balls hit the ground where they had been standing. Juvia instantly put out the flames with her water and Gray jumped to his feet.

'So, they sent an ice mage and a water mage,' a voice sniggered as someone started to step out from the surrounding trees.

'How entertaining,' the person continued to snigger, stepping into the light. Gray and Juvia's stare darkened.

'A fire mage,' Juvia muttered as she glared at the well-built, middle-aged man with brown hair and eyes. He was grinning at them while flames flared from his hands.

'Yes, but most people know me as Blazer,' he casually responded and Gray frowned. He already really didn't like this guy.

'We don't care who you are! We're here to stop you from terrorizing the village!' Gray informed the Blazer guy who snorted at this. _This was very entertaining indeed_.

'I'm getting paid to do this so no one's getting in my way,' Blazer told them and Gray and Juvia quickly glanced at each other.

'Who would pay you to do such a thing?' Juvia demanded and Blazer smirked.

'A very rich man. Apparently there's a lot of diamonds under the village, but the villagers aren't willing to move so my client can dig it up. They left him no choice,' Blazer explained with a shrug. Gray glared at him. He hated people who abused their magic!

'Guys like you make me sick! Ice-make: hammer!' he shouted as a large ice hammer came crashing down towards the fire mage. He smirked again. _How trivial_.

'Fire fist!' Blazer retaliated, smashing the hammer to pieces. He grinned in Gray's direction. The ice mage was grinning back and Blazer's eyes widened. Where was the water mage?

'Water Nebula!' a voice suddenly surrounded him as the water attack came rushing at him. He jumped back to avoid the attack. It was a mistake. The ice mage was waiting for him.

'Ice-make: cannon!' Gray cried, watching the ice cannonball hit Blazer in the stomach, sending him flying back. Blazer flew into a tree and hit the ground face first. He groaned under his breath. Gray and Juvia smiled at each other. He had underestimated their teamwork. He sneered to himself though. This was far from over. He stood up, alerting the two to his movements and they stood ready to attack. But it was too late. Blazer had already begun his next move.

'Fire earth shake!' he shouted and the ground beneath began to shake uncontrollably. Gray looked at him. What was he up to? His eyes widened when he saw Blazer grin in Juvia's direction. _No_! She was his target.

'Juvia!' Gray screamed as a burst of fire erupted from beneath her. Blazer roared with cynical laughter. No one ever survived that. He turned to mock the ice mage and his laughter vanished. The ice mage wasn't there. His head snapped in the direction of his attack and he scowled. _It wasn't possible_! The water mage was held safely in the arms of her partner. Blazer's eyes flared with anger. They were beginning to annoy him! Gray gently put Juvia back down on her feet. His hands trembled. That had been a powerful attack. He feared to think what would have become of Juvia if he hadn't made it in time. He shook this thought away. It was time to end this.

'Juvia,' he said to her as he held out his hand. She immediately knew what he meant and she gave a stiff nod. She reached for his hand, but they were instantly forced apart by the approaching fire arrows.

'Ice-make: arrows,' Gray reacted with his own set of arrows. Blazer jumped out of the way to avoid the attack. He raised his hands to retaliate with another one of his powerful attacks, but he was beat to it.

'Water Cane!' Juvia cried out, sending the water wipe towards her opponent at great speed. Blazer tried to dodge it, but her attack was too fast. It hit him with great pressure, sending him flying off his feet. It was exactly what they needed.

'Juvia!' Gray called out to her, sprinting towards the water mage with his hand extended.

'Gray,' Juvia quickly responded, reaching out for his hand with hers and grabbing it. They gave each other a firm nod. It was time for a Unison Raid. They stepped closer together and readied their combined attacks. Blazer was wide open.

'Ice-make–' Gray started to shout.

'Water–' Juvia joined in. They never got a chance to finish. An unexpected voice cut them both off.

'Juvia!' It shouted as a person stumbled into the opening between the trees. Gray's eyes widened as Juvia gasped.

'Blake!' she cried in shock at the sight of her boyfriend. Juvia's head rang with questions. What was he doing here? How did he even find her?

'Why are you holding his hand?' Blake demanded with a red face. Juvia blinked blankly before looking down at her hand grasped in Gray's. This must look bad! She quickly let go of his hand and stepped away. It must look really bad! Juvia stopped and shook her head. Blake's arrival was muddling up her thoughts. She wasn't doing anything wrong. This was a battle. She looked at Gray with a determined expression and he responded with his own one in return. Blake would have to wait. They had a Unison Raid to do. But it was too late. Blake's interruption had given Blazer the time he needed to get the upper hand.

'Fire rain!' the fire mage shouted, his hands raised to the sky. Gray reacted quickly.

'Ice-make: shield!' he retaliated as a shield of ice covered above them. Gray glanced at Blazer with a triumphant smile, ready to stop his attack. His smile immediately vanished. Blazer was grinning at him. Gray's eyes went big. That was a decoy! Juvia let out a loud cry of pain as a rain of fire shot out at her from beneath the ground. It sent her flying back in a ball of flames.

'Juvia!' Gray and Blake both screamed as Blake ran towards his girlfriend. Gray turned to glare at the laughing fire mage. He felt the feeling inside burst within his chest, consuming every part of him as his eyes flared with rage. _He would pay_!

'Ice-make unlimited: one sided chaotic dance!' Gray yelled in full fury. Blazer's laughter died out as he watched the large ice swords form around them, all the sharp edges pointed at him. There was nowhere to run to dodge such an attack. Blazer put his hands out to create a shield of fire. But it was too late. The ice mage had already commanded the swords to slash down at him. The attack was too powerful. He had lost.

Gray didn't wait to see the result his attack had. He knew what it was capable of. He quickly turned in the direction of Juvia and sprinted to her side where Blake already was. He felt his rage burn on at Blake. If he hadn't interrupted, this wouldn't have happened! He forced his focus on Juvia. She was burnt pretty badly. That attack must have been powerful if Juvia wasn't able to turn her body into water to stop it. Gray cringed. He couldn't heal her. She was going to need Wendy for that…but he could ease the pain. He stretched his hands out over her. They were trembling again.

'What are you–' Blake started to shout at him. Gray didn't let him finish.

'Shut-up!' he snapped at the writer with such force it silenced him. The ice mage turned his concentration back to the semi-conscious water mage, struggling to keep her eyes open. The pain was so intense. Gray pressed his lips together as ice started to wrap around Juvia's aching body. His hands continued to shake. He knew she would be okay. But he also knew she was suffering. His eyes would only bring her a little relief. But he couldn't mover her, not yet, not in the condition she was in. He needed to pick her up to get her to the guild, but any touch to her right now would only bring her more pain. His ice could at least help with that, it could at least get her to a stage where he could carry her. Gray pulled back his hands. Juvia was completely covered in ice except for her face. He wanted to do more as he watched her scrunch up her face in agony. It would only take a few minutes for the ice to work, but those few minutes felt like forever. The feeling in his chest hated this. _No_! He hated this.

'Is she going to be okay?' Blake eventually asked with a worried expression. The rage inside Gray built up again and he turned to grab Blake by the collar of his shirt.

'What were you thinking? What idiot runs into a battle!' Gray shouted at him. Juvia was somewhat aware of the tension between the two. She wanted to speak out and calm the situation. She wasn't able to.

'I was worried about her!' Blake shouted back. He didn't even try to get out of the ice mage's hold. His grip was too strong.

'If you knew Juvia you would know she is strong enough to handle missions!' Gray told him as he pushed him. Blake stumbled back, but managed to keep his balance and glared up at Gray.

'I know that. But I worry about her with you!' Blake retaliated. Gray was a little taken aback by this. Did Blake have need to worry? He quickly shook his head. That wasn't the point.

'You should trust Juvia!' Gray said angrily. Blake's face went redder.

'I do trust her! I don't trust you! You were holding her hand after all!' Blake pointed out with a sharp edge to his tone. Gray stared at him in disbelief. _This guy was impossible_!

'We were about to do a unison raid which is an attack that would have ended the battle without Juvia getting hurt, but you ruined it all!' Gray shouted at the writer. He was reaching boiling point. Juvia wanted them to stop. She didn't want them fighting. Gray knew he should stop. But he couldn't. That feeling was consuming every part of him, taking control. And he wasn't trying to fight it this time.

'You clearly aren't right for her if this is what ends up happening!' Gray continued to shout. Blake's eyes widened. He went too far!

'Shut up!' he screamed as he ran up to the ice mage and tried to push him. He ended up stumbling forward instead when Gray stepped to the side. Blake turned around sharply with his blazing glare on the black-haired guy.

'Don't you dare say that! You have no right to! I have done everything for our relationship! You have no idea how far we've come! When I met her, she was heartbroken because of you! I brought back her smile! I got her to change so she could be happy again!' Blake spat out at him, his body trembling with anger while the ice around Juvia slowly started to melt. Gray felt a sting of pain in his chest. _When I met her, she was heartbroken because of you_! Those were hard words to hear…because…they were true.

'You never appreciated her!' Blake screamed. Gray gripped his fists tightly.

'Yeah, I've made mistakes, but at least I never tried to change her! You didn't do it to help her move on from me! You did it to control her! You could have helped her without changing her!' Gray shouted as loud as he could, letting out his anger with each word. It wasn't just Blake he was angry with. It was with himself too. Juvia's change, her said expression on the train, it all made sense now. But what came next pushed Gray over boiling point.

'I did it because I at least love her!' Blake shrieked.

'I love her too!' Gray shrieked back. He froze with wide eyes. Blake stared back at him with the same expression.

 _Silence_!

It was just silent. All Juvia could hear with the pounding coming from her chest. _I love her too_! Gray had just said that. He had really just said that. Her head spun as she tried to focus on the moment and what would happen next. But she couldn't. She was sinking into unconsciousness by the pain that consumed her body. The cold sensation of the ice was gone. Her body felt numb on the outside, but the inside was excruciating. And she couldn't tell them. She couldn't say a word. She could only sink further into darkness where she was alone with her agony surrounded by the voice of the ice mage.

'Juvia,' a different voice entered her mind, confusing her.

'Pss, Juvia, I'm going to have one of these get-well chocolates of yours, okay?' the voice spoke again. _Huh_? What was happening? Juvia opened her heavy eyes to a bright light. She turned her head, confused and disorientated. The pain was gone. This only puzzled her more. How was that possible? A moment ago she was suffering.

'Juvia! You're awake!' an excited voice cried as a smiling Natsu appeared, looking down at her. This startled the water mage. She stared back at him, bewildered.

 _Awake_?

She didn't remember ever being asleep in the first place. The last thing she remembered… _I love her too_ …Juvia's eyes widened. _It was all just a dream_. None of it actually happened. _Of course_! That made so much more sense. Gray never loved her. It was all just a dream. Juvia frowned. She shouldn't have been dreaming that, she had a boyfriend. That wasn't why she was frowning though. It should have been the reason. But it wasn't.

'Man, you've been out of it for two days now. That fire mage really got you bad. But he's been taken care of, and his rich employer,' Natsu told her. _Fire mage_! Juvia shot up and her head spun in objection.

'Wow, you probably shouldn't do that. Wendy said you'll be dizzy for the next few days,' the dragon-slayer informed her. She shook her head. That wasn't important.

'What…what fire mage?' she asked, trying to focus. It was hard. Her head wouldn't stop spinning. But it was more than that. Her heart was pounding. Her breathing was heavy. If the fire mage was real…then…

 _Then_ …

'Gray reported that his name is Blazer. He hit you with a powerful attack after Blake interrupted the battle,' Natsu answered, a little confused.

'Don't you remember?' he questioned, watching her face go paler than usual.

'Are you getting sick? I'll call Wendy,' Natsu quickly added, turning to rush out. _This would happen on his turn to watch over her_.

'It…it…wasn't…a dream,' he heard Juvia whisper and he stopped to face her again. She was staring down wide eyed.

'It really happened,' she continued to whisper. She was struggling to believe it. It being a dream was more realistic.

'You mean what happened to you? No, it was all real. You were really beat up quite bad while on a mission with Gray,' Natsu said as he folded his arms.

'Which I should have been on too,' he mumbled with a frown. His face then lit up as Juvia was still trying to accept this truth. _Maybe she just dreamt that part_. It wouldn't be the first time it happened. Natsu stepped closer and smirked at the blue-haired girl, catching her attention.

'I even overheard Gray and Blake got into a fight because Gray confessed his love for you,' Natsu sniggered, lowering his voice with a cheeky grin. Juvia's face went blood red. _It really did happen_! Gray had really said those words. She put her hands over her red, hot cheeks. She was shocked. She was speechless. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to react.

 _If you really love me, then leave me alone!_

Gray's voice rang loudly inside Juvia's head. It overpowered the memory of his confession and brought her back to reality. The confession was probably just a-caught-in-the-moment kind-of-thing. He probably didn't mean it. The many scowls and cold-shoulders he had given her proved this. He didn't really love her.

'He doesn't really love me,' Juvia said softly, needing to hear it out loud, needing to remind herself of the actual truth. It shouldn't matter anyway. She had Blake. _Blake_! Juvia gasped to herself. She hadn't even thought about him until now. He was the one who should be on her mind. He was the one she should be concerned about. She loved him. He loved her. That was all she needed.

But… _If you really love me, then leave me alone_ …she had done this for him. She had forced herself to move on from Gray because she loved him. It was all for him. And Blake had been onboard with it. Cutting her hair, giving up hats, speaking normally, it had all been to get over Gray… _for his sake_. And she honestly believed she had moved on. Blake had convinced her she had. _She had convinced herself_.

 _But_ …that was a lie. A lie for the sake of Gray.

'I wouldn't say that,' Natsu responded to her soft statement, surprising her. She looked up at the pink-haired mage. He didn't have his usual goofball expression. His face was stern, but soft.

'Gray hasn't left this guild for the past two days. He's either by your bedside or nearby,' the dragon-slayer let her know. Juvia lowered her eyes to the floor. That didn't mean anything.

'He's just being a concerned friend. He already told me how he felt when he said I must leave him alone,' Juvia replied despondently. She shouldn't feel this way. It shouldn't matter. But she couldn't lie anymore. It wasn't fair to her, and to him. Natsu glanced at her with a blank look before he burst out laughing. His unusual reaction shocked her.

'That! That happened months ago,' he laughed. Juvia didn't find it so funny and Natsu noticed. _He didn't know why people overcomplicated things_.

'Gray said that in a moment of anger, it doesn't mean he meant it. People say and do stupid things when they're angry. It's not right, but it's something most people have to work on. Either way, you shouldn't base one moment of angry words over everything else. Love isn't just expressed through words. It's usually what people do that make a lasting impression. Think about all those times Gray has always been there for you or how he'll do something that makes him uncomfortable, because you've asked him. Like the Love-Love slide thing and when he wore that scarf you knitted even though he wasn't cold. Yeah, he does it grudgingly, but that's because he can be a blockhead. He still does it though. Actions speak louder than words,' Natsu explained to Juvia as she stared at him. Was this really Natsu? When did he become so deep! He's usually always joking around, so easy-going, and then bam! He pulls out this philosophical moment.

'I mean, take mine and Lucy's relationship for example. We've been together for almost a year now and I never have to give her lovey-dovey speeches. She knows how I feel through my actions and she's the same,' he casually added with a big grin as Juvia nodded at his words. What wisdom! She could actually learn a lot from him. What he was saying was true. They had always shown their love for each other through their actions. And…

 _Wait! What?_

 _Relationship!_

'Um, Natsu, does…does Lucy know she's in a relationship with you?' Juvia asked unsurely. She was still trying to register that bombshell he had so casually dropped on her. Natsu looked at her oddly and nodded.

'Obviously. It would be weird if she didn't,' he answered with a chuckle to himself. What a weird thing to ask. Juvia eyed him doubtfully.

'Did you ever ask her…to be your girlfriend?' Juvia questioned, emphasising her words carefully. She was convinced she already knew what his response would be.

'Not using that exact word, but she knows because of how I treat her,' Natsu responded as the smile on his face broadened. Juvia clapped her hand over her mouth. _He had no idea_. The meaningful moment from a second ago was gone. Natsu was his usual oblivious self again. He was in a relationship only he knew about and he had no idea that was the case. Poor Natsu. _Poor Lucy_.

Juvia opened her mouth to help him get on the same page as his so-called girlfriend. The words didn't come out and she bit back her tongue. She couldn't tell him. The mischievous grin on his face wouldn't let her. There was a sweet tenderness to it. Juvia looked down and smiled to herself. He really did love the celestial mage.

'Anyway, I'm going to let Wendy know you're awake. She'll probably want to check up on you,' Natsu told her as he turned to leave. Juvia nodded and watched him walk out the room with a wave of his hand.

The sweet, meaningful and oblivious moments were all forgotten. Juvia was alone now, alone with her wondering thoughts. Where did she go from here? There was Gray. There was Blake. And there was herself. So many different thoughts were going through her mind right now. Natsu had given her a lot to think about. But did that matter? She was dating Blake. And if she wasn't, could she suddenly accept Gray loved her? Juvia quickly shook her head. That shouldn't even be a question.

'Blake is my boyfriend,' Juvia reminded herself as she turned her focus away from the door. Her gaze stopped on a mirror hanging on the wall opposite her. She could see her reflection. She stared at her hatless head and shoulder-length hair. This was the Juvia with Blake. This was who he had turned her into. _No_. That wasn't right. This was who she had allowed herself to become. It was for Gray. It was for Blake. But it was never really for her.

This wasn't who she wanted to be.

Juvia stared wide eyed at herself through the mirror _. This wasn't who she wanted to be_. She had been kidding herself all this time. She wanted to make Gray happy. She wanted to make Blake happy. _What about her though_? Between all the pleasing and moving on, she had forgotten something very important. To be true to herself. Juvia had been wrong. It wasn't about Gray, and it wasn't about Blake. This was about her. And it wasn't selfish to think so. Juvia looked down at her hands gripped together. She glanced up again at her reflection and gave a firm nod. She knew where she would go from here.


	10. Iron

'There you are,' a familiar voice called out to Gray. He turned his head to look behind him from where he sat on a staircase in an empty part of the guild. He had been deep in thought a moment ago. The ice mage wasn't completely surprised to see Lucy.

'I've been looking all over for you,' she told him through heavy breaths. That didn't surprise Gray either.

'Juvia is awake,' Lucy informed the black-haired mage, expecting some kind of reaction from him.

'I know,' he muttered in response as he looked away from her. _That's it!_ That's all he had to say. Lucy pressed her lips together, displeased.

'You can't seriously still be denying that you're in love with her…' the celestial mage started to moan at him. A shake of Gray's head silenced her and he narrowed his eyes. He wasn't trying to deny it anymore. It had shocked him at first. He never had expected to say those words. But at the same time, it wasn't a shock. Those feelings had probably been there for quite some time, suppressed by his stubborn ways. The sky always seemed more blue than usual to him. He didn't even realize he would smile at hat shops. And he would randomly just stop and stare at water. It should have been obvious to him then. He should have known what that feeling in his chest was. But Gray was too proud, too stubborn to acknowledge it. He gripped his fists tightly and Lucy noticed. She frowned at the despondent look on her teammate's face. She quietly sat down next to him and gently touched his arm. He looked at her with his troubled dark eyes and the feeling inside ached at what he was about to say.

'I know I love her, but I don't deserve to,' he painfully admitted to a shocked Lucy.

'Why? Because of what you said to her? That was over six months ago!' Lucy quickly reminded him. She was tired of that moment getting in the way. Gray shook his head again.

'It's not just that, it's everything. All the pushing away and scowls. I've never done anything to deserve her love,' Gray responded, his voice getting softer with each word he spoke. He looked away from Lucy's determined expression and lowered his eyes to the floor. He wasn't just giving up, he was doing what was best for Juvia. She deserved to be in love with someone who loved her better than him. Lucy didn't agree.

'What about all those times you've been there for her and all those things you did for her?' she demanded. Gray let out a fake laugh.

'Like any of those things really matter. Do you really believe Juvia is going to believe I suddenly love her?' he demanded back. The blonde-haired mage opened her mouth. She wasn't giving up. Another voice beat her to it.

'Then you prove your love to her. You prove that you deserve her,' the unexpected voice surrounded them.

'Gajeel,' Lucy muttered, both her and Gray surprised to see the iron dragon-slayer step out from the shadows.

'I've been watching over Juvia since this whole Blake thing started,' he revealed, stunning Lucy. She thought she was the only one. Gajeel guessed her thoughts.

'No, it's not just you Lucy. We've all been keeping a close eye on Juvia, waiting for the moment when she finally realized it's time to put her first,' he told the celestial mage. Lucy frowned again.

'Why didn't you say anything to her?' she asked. It sounded more like a demand to Gajeel.

'Do you think it would have made a difference? She was convinced she loved Blake. She had to realize the truth on her own,' Gajeel answered with folded arms. He had watched over Juvia long enough to know what would work best for her. She had to come to this conclusion herself. But Gajeel was always there, in the shadows, ready to step in at any time. Gray pressed his lips together. Gajeel noticed that too. The ice mage wasn't convinced.

'Do you think I believed I deserved to love Levy?' Gajeel surprised him. Gray looked up at him with big eyes.

'It still disgusts me just thinking about what I did to her,' the iron mage muttered.

'I struggled with my feelings for Levy for a long time because I didn't believe I deserved to love her. But I never sat around, feeling sorry for myself,' Gajeel continued. That struck a nerve with the ice mage. He jumped up and took a defensive step forward, startling Lucy.

'I'm not feeling sorry for myself,' Gray retaliated. Gajeel let out a snort.

'You could have fooled me,' he said sarcastically as Gray's face went red. Lucy glanced between the two nervously. Gajeel was pushing all the wrong buttons.

'So, you'd rather I go after Juvia like this!' Gray shouted at him. He thought Gajeel would want what was best for her. Gray was not that.

'No. I want you to be better!' Gajeel shouted back, catching the black-haired mage off guard. _Better?_ The tension in the air subsided. Gray was no longer on the defensive.

'I worked hard every day to prove to Levy how much I love her, and to prove to myself. Do the same. Stop being so stubborn and show her that you love her,' Gajeel said to the silent ice mage.

'Because if you're not willing to do that, then you're right, you really don't deserve her. It all comes down to how much you actually love her,' the dragon-slayer concluded as Gray's eyes widened. _How much he actually loved her?_ He stepped back and dropped down onto the step with Gajeel's words racing through his mind. Gajeel stared at him with a firm expression. A surprised Lucy glanced from Gray to him and smiled tenderly. She never really understood it when Levy would say her boyfriend had a sweet and caring side. She got it now.

'I never knew you were so sentimental Gajeel,' she said to him with a sweet giggle. It immediately stopped when he turned his dark glare on her.

'Don't you dare tell anyone,' he scowled at her as she recoiled back. _There was the Gajeel she knew_. She quickly nodded as he continued to scowl at her. Gray ignored both of them. _Silly!_ He was so silly! Why did it take Gajeel to make him realize what he should be doing? Sitting on a step, hiding away, wasn't it. Gajeel was right. Even if Gray didn't want to admit that to his face. _But he was_.

It was time for Gray to stop being so selfish. It was time for him to start putting Juvia first. _That was long overdue_. It was possible that Juvia would choose not to accept his feelings and he would respect that. But he was determined to never have her doubt them again. He was no longer going to be the reason for her tears. He had been so resistant up to this point. It was time to change that. Gray stood up with a firm nod, catching Lucy and Gajeel's attention. He knew where he would go from here.


	11. Fish

'There,' Wendy muttered as she wiped a few drops of sweat from her forehead.

'A few more days and you should be back to full health,' she added to the blue-haired mage and Juvia smiled at her gratefully.

'Thank you, Wendy. You really have been amazing,' she responded as she leant back against her pillow. She could feel she wasn't fully right yet. Wendy blushed a little at the compliment and shook her head.

'No, no, I'm happy to help,' she quickly said and Juvia smiled. Wendy was always so polite and sweet. She watched the small dragon-slayer stop to take in a deep breath and frowned. Wendy was exhausted. It wasn't much of a surprise. She came in three times a day to work her healing magic on the water mage.

'I hope you are resting too,' Juvia told her, catching the petite girl off guard. Wendy quickly nodded.

'I am,' she assured Juvia, grateful for her concern.

'I usually take a nap after I've seen you and then I feel fully rested,' she continued as she let down her tied-up hair and smiled at her teammate.

'I'll be back in the evening to check up on you,' she sweetly added before walking over to the open door. Wendy stopped in the doorway and hesitantly turned back around, confusing Juvia.

'Um, Blake is downstairs. He's been wanting to see you, but Erza has been keeping him away. Would you like her to continue to do that?' Wendy awkwardly asked as she shifted her feet uneasily. This didn't come as too much of a surprise to Juvia. She knew Blake wasn't possibly staying away by his own free will.

'No, it's okay. He can come up,' Juvia answered, smiling kindly at the gentle-hearted girl. Wendy promptly nodded and turned to leave. Juvia's smile immediately vanished. She wasn't looking forward to what came next. She knew it wouldn't be taken easily, but she was determined to stand her ground. _This had to be done_. Juvia looked up as she heard footsteps and took in a deep breath.

'Juvia!' a voice cried as Blake came rushing to her side. She didn't have time to react before she felt herself being pulled into his tight embrace, forcing her to sit up. That small effort made her a little tired. After a long minute, Blake finally let go of her and took her by the shoulders, looking her up and down.

'Are you okay? Does it hurt? Can I do anything for you? I was so worried. They wouldn't let me see you, I'm so sorry. I would have come much sooner,' he hurriedly spoke without taking a breather. Juvia felt her head spin with all his questions and she leant back against the headrest to support herself. This gave Blake a fright and he quickly realized he was overwhelming his girlfriend.

'I'm sorry,' he apologized and took a step back. He got too excited to see her. Juvia grimaced at this. Blake was so caring. That just made this even harder.

'It's okay. Thank you for caring,' Juvia eventually replied and Blake frowned. He knew immediately something was wrong. That response sounded a little too formal. Juvia noticed his expression and sighed. There was no easy way to start this.

'Blake–' she tried to say. She was instantly cut off.

'Don't,' Blake interrupted and Juvia looked up into his green eyes. That was a mistake. There was a silent plea in them. _Maybe she could force it to work_. Juvia quickly shook her head and pushed passed the ache in her heart. She wouldn't be happy doing that and it wouldn't be fair on either of them.

'I think deep down you know this is the right thing to do,' Juvia told Blake and he fiercely shook his head.

'No, I don't! I love you! Don't you love me?' he asked, calming down his tone with the last few words. Juvia pressed her lips together. She hated this.

'I do, but not in the way I thought,' she admitted, expecting an outburst of anger from Blake. But she was caught off guard when he unexpectedly softly grabbed both her hands.

'Not yet, that's why we're working on it and making and following the list,' he gently reminded her as he stared intensely into her eyes. His stare seemed to want to break down her resolve and she quickly pulled her hands away. _That was too close_. Blake frowned again.

'Love shouldn't happen that way,' Juvia pointed out and Blake's stare darkened.

'This is because of him, isn't it?' he demanded. Juvia didn't have to guess who he was referring to and she shook her head.

'I'll admit I've been doing a lot of reflecting since Gray's return, but I'm not breaking up with you so I can be free for him,' she informed a furious looking Blake.

'But he put it into your head! We were perfectly fine before he came back into the picture!' Blake retaliated with a fierce tone. He didn't want to lose Juvia. She shook her head again.

'I made this decision all on my own. I realized I had convinced myself I loved you in an attempt to move on from Gray–' Juvia started, but Blake cut her off again.

'Please stop saying his name!' he snapped at Juvia before he could stop himself. Blake hated hearing her voice say that name. He realized his harsh tone and let out a deep breath to calm himself.

'Sorry,' he muttered, embarrassed by the way he had acted now. Juvia's eyes saddened. Blake really was a great guy. She wished that was enough.

'No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let any of this happen. You've been nothing but loving to me, trying to help me in ways you thought were right. I should have realized sooner how I really felt. I'm so sorry,' Juvia apologized as tears filled her eyes. If only there was a better word to say than 'sorry.' It didn't feel good enough. It didn't portray well enough what she was feeling in her heart. She had been such a misguided fool.

'Please stop speaking like we're breaking up,' Blake begged with a pleading step forward. The tears in his own eyes made Juvia's heart ache even more.

'Blake, I can't keep doing this to you,' Juvia whispered. She didn't want to. _It wasn't right_.

'I don't mind. I'm a patient guy. We could carry on dating and I'm sure one day you'll fall in love with me,' he suggested, surprising Juvia. _That would all just be fake_. Blake knew it sounded crazy, but he was desperate. He had fallen for Juvia the moment he had seen her and he couldn't imagine life without her.

'You deserve someone who can fully love you and that's not me. I need time to re-discover myself,' Juvia explained to him as she wiped her tears away. She needed to be completely honest with him. _And herself_.

'I can wait,' Blake promised her, trying his best to get her to reconsider. Juvia sighed and shook her head for the third time. _It wasn't that simple_.

'It won't change. I'm really sorry, I'm trying to spare us both even more heartache further down the line,' she spoke and Blake's stare darkened again.

'So you never really loved me,' he muttered with a fierce tone. The anger was coming back. That felt like he was taking a jab at her.

'I did, but like I said earlier, it wasn't in the way I thought,' Juvia corrected him and he let out a fake laugh, startling her.

'You mean to say, not in the way you love Gray. You say you're not breaking up with me for him, but I know you are,' he reacted. _This was all that ice mage's fault!_

'No I'm not. I'm trying to do what's right,' Juvia responded, trying to keep her voice calm. Blake wasn't trying to anymore.

'Don't lie to me!' he snapped at her, catching her off guard.

'I gave my all! I accepted you didn't love me at first, but I thought we were getting there, forcing our way there!' he continued as his voice trembled. Juvia frowned.

'Listen to what you're saying, love shouldn't be forced,' she gently spoke, but Blake refused to listen. He was so angry. He didn't want to take it out on Juvia, but he couldn't help it. His heart was broken.

'You used me!' he shouted as he pointed a sharp finger at her. Juvia's eyes widened. She saw his finger shake from his anger and his hurtful words stabbed into her heart with a painful impact. She felt her resolve threatening to crumble at the sight of the furious Blake. Did she use him? _No!_ Juvia's expression hardened. He was attempting to guilt-trip her. Blake took a surprised step back when Juvia suddenly climbed out of bed to stand face-to-face with him. He didn't know that this took all the energy she had.

'Everything I did was to try to make you happy. I changed for you, I moved on for Gray. It was always for someone else. This time I'm doing something for me. I regret how it came about, but I do not regret my decision. I stand by it, and if you have any love for me, like you claim to, then you'll respect that,' Juvia firmly told him, standing her ground and shocking him. _If you have any love for me…then you'll respect that_. Blake opened his mouth to retaliate. Juvia's words ringing loudly in his mind stopped him. Her stern gaze kept him silent too. That was it. _They really were over_. Blake didn't know if he could accept that. He didn't want to. But Juvia was adamant. _She was_ _doing what was best for him_. It didn't feel that way. He contemplated arguing some more, maybe begging again, but her words wouldn't let him. He gripped his fists tightly. It was because they were true. He really did love her. Blake ungripped his fists. He was madly in love with her. _But that wasn't enough_. His shoulders slumped as his subconsciousness admitted defeat. In his mind, there was a part that still hoped. _But that wasn't enough either_.

Blake turned around and walked out. Juvia watched him leave without saying another word and looking completely defeated. Her heart sunk as she let out an exhausted breath. She leant against the bed, that came up to her waist, for support. She didn't know if she had the energy to climb back onto it. Juvia didn't care. _That was horrible_. It took everything she had not to call for him to come back. She really did care for him and watching his heart break, broke hers. Maybe she was being selfish? _No!_ As hard as it was, as horrible as she felt, this was truly for the best. This was what her heart really wanted. _Needed_.

'Juvia,' an unexpected voice suddenly called to her, surprising her. She looked towards the door, but the person was already rushing to her. This dazed her and she felt the room start to spin inside her head. _She had overdone it_. Juvia's eyes began to blur, but before she could collapse, she felt herself being picked up in a strong hold and laid down on something soft. _That helped_. The room stopped spinning and her eyes refocused. She blinked away her confusion as she looked up into the face of Gray. _Gray!_

'Are you okay,' he gently asked her. _Gently?_ Her confusion immediately came back. It wasn't often she heard him speak that way to her. She gave a weak nod and Gray stepped back with a relieved sigh. That added to her puzzlement. What was he so relieved about? Her being okay? Juvia struggled to wrap her mind around that. She knew he admitted his love for her in the heat of a moment, but she wasn't sure yet if she could believe that. And for him to show up right after Blake. Juvia didn't know if she could handle that. _It was all too much_. She opened her mouth to ask him to let her rest. The words never came out.

'I'm glad I came now to give you this,' he told her as he held something out in his hand. Juvia stared wide-eyed at the blue and white hat. It was her favourite one. She was speechless.

'I found it at a second-hand store. I looked to see if it had your name in it and it did! I was quite surprised,' Gray continued as Juvia slowly moved her shocked eyes onto him. He quickly glanced away. He felt a little weird. This was so out of character for him, but he wanted to do it for Juvia. _And it really wasn't that bad_. He just wasn't used to these situations. He was actually happy to find the hat. He just didn't know if Juvia would feel that way too.

'If you don't want it, I can take it back,' Gray quickly added, looking at her once again when she still didn't speak. Juvia didn't think she would ever see that hat again. And here it was, in Gray's grasp. She slowly shook her head and took the hat from the ice mage when he handed it to her. She gazed at it. Despite all the adventures it had been on, it still looked brand-new. She slowly turned it inside-out. Gray was right. There was her name, on the tag, written in her handwriting. She smiled tenderly at it and gradually sat up. Juvia noticed Gray step forward then back, unsure if he should help her. _If she would want him to help her_. She leant back against the headrest and gently put the hat over her head. _How strange_. Something so small made her so happy. She didn't realize how much she missed it and she smiled gratefully at Gray, startling him.

'Don't make it weird, just smile back normally,' he silently told himself. He wasn't very good at this sentimental stuff. He tried to give her a casual smile back, but it ended up being an awkward one. _Idiot!_ He couldn't even do something as simple as smiling normally. And it wasn't because of his usual reason of being too stubborn. He was genuinely nervous. He wanted to take Gajeel's advice and prove how he felt to Juvia. But he wasn't very good at it. And not knowing how Juvia felt about it all made his nerves worse. Gray turned to hide his red face, but Juvia caught a glimpse of it. _How curious_. The hat. His blush. It all seemed to want to prove something to her. She could guess what that was. _This was sweet_. But she wasn't convinced.

'I still can't believe you bought Juvia a fish,' a voice from outside suddenly said, forcing Gray and Juvia's attention away from each other.

'Who wouldn't love getting a fish to cook?' another voice responded. It was no speculation who was making their way to Juvia.

'Most people,' the first voice muttered under their breath as Lucy and Natsu came into view. Lucy stopped in the doorway when she saw Gray standing by Juvia's bedside and her eyes widened.

'We'll come back later,' she quickly called over to Juvia, but Natsu walked straight in.

'Why? We're already here,' he told Lucy as she glared at her easy-going teammate. He really had no tact.

'Juvia, Lucy and I were out getting something to eat and I bought you a fish to help you feel better,' the pink-haired mage addressed his healing friend, beaming with pride. He placed the wrapped-up fish on her lap while looking at her eagerly. He knew this was going to make her happy. Juvia glanced down blankly at his gift. This would seem a little unusual coming from anyone else. But not from Natsu. This showed he cared in his own weird way. She smiled gratefully up at him.

'Thank you. I'm already feeling better because of it,' Juvia thanked him and his smile widened. Lucy rolled her eyes, attempting to hide her own smile as Gray grinned at the dragon-slayer. _What a goofball_. But he was a well-intentioned goofball at least.

'I can cook it for you right now if you want,' Natsu excitedly offered as he opened his mouth wide.

'No!' Lucy, Gray and Juvia all shouted at the same time, as Lucy and Gray both jumped to stop him, confusing the fire mage.

'What?' he asked innocently as Lucy sighed and Gray shook his head at his clueless teammate. Juvia looked back down at the fish, smiling to herself. Her heart still ached and the heart-breaking moment with Blake still hung in the air. But it was a little more bearable now. It hurt a little less. And that comforted her. Gray noticed her smile from out of the corner of his eye. It was a little reassuring. This didn't go as well as he had planned. But it was a start. Gray casually put his one hand in his pocket and the other around Natsu, catching the attention of the other three people in the room.

'I think that instead of cooking the fish, we should let Juvia rest for a bit,' Gray suggested, satisfying Natsu's confusion at why he couldn't cook the fish. Lucy nodded in agreement.

'Okay, but when you need it cooked, just ask me,' Natsu told Juvia and she nodded in response, trying to keep back a giggle. Natsu smiled big again and turned to Lucy.

'Let's go get some of Mirajane's food,' he eagerly said to her as he grabbed her hand, making her blush.

'But we just ate,' Lucy reminded him in an attempt to ignore her red face. Natsu pretended not to hear her and dashed for the door, pulling the celestial mage along with him. _There was no such thing as enough food_. Lucy glanced back at Juvia giggling before she disappeared out the room. _Poor Lucy, she had no idea that she was probably on a date with Natsu_. Gray shook his head with a laugh to himself. Lucy wasn't even given a choice. _That's Natsu for you_. The ice mage leant forward and picked up the fish, surprising Juvia a little who had been focused on the empty doorway a second ago.

'I'll ask Mirajane to keep this for you so the room doesn't start smelling like fish,' he offered. Juvia quickly nodded softly. It was the only reaction her crowded mind could think of. So much had happened today. And so much was still happening. Gray was right about another thing. Juvia did need to rest. Her tired mind needed to rejuvenate itself and then maybe she could begin to consider everything that was going on in her head. She watched Gray give her another somewhat awkward smile and turn to leave. She felt like maybe she should say something. But she didn't know if that was out of a want to or an obligation to. _There was a big difference_. And she couldn't figure that out now either. She glanced towards the door and saw Gray hesitate with his hand on the doorknob. It looked like he wanted to say something. Juvia wasn't sure if she wanted to hear it. _At least not now_. She was silently grateful when he instead looked in her direction one last time and closed the door.


	12. One Year

Gray looked down at the makeshift object in his hand. What was he doing? This looked nothing like it was meant to. It was full of holes and the shape wasn't something he could explain. He sighed and tossed the wool and needles on the table. _Knitting a scarf was hard_. The fact that he was even attempting to knit at all was crazy. He had never even thought of knitting something before. He sighed again. But there was a reason for it. In a few days it would be three years since he first met her. And that wasn't something he had recently realized. Gray always knew what that day meant every year since they crossed paths. He didn't know it back then, but it had been one of those fated encounters. And the scarf was going to be his gift to her. It wasn't about the gift though. He had no intention to win the water mage over by buying and making her things. It was really about what the scarf represented.

Gray raised his hand and touched the warm wool around his neck. He wore this scarf a lot lately now that the days were getting colder. He didn't need to though. He didn't feel the cold like others did. _But he chose to_. The scarf had been a gift to him on the 413th day they had met. She had knitted it herself, and Gray hadn't appreciated it back then like he should have. He was trying to change that. The fact that he was trying to knit something was proof of that. Not in a million years did Gray think he would be doing this. It just wasn't the type of person he was. He was used to keeping things like feelings bottled up inside. Expressing them was not something he did. It wasn't what he was used to. _He was trying to change that too_. She had always gone out of her way for him, so stepping out of his comfort zone was something he needed to do.

'Hi Gray,' a sweet voice interrupted his thoughts. His focus immediately snapped to the distorted, half-knitted scarf lying on the table and his eyes widened. It was lying out in the open, exposed for the celestial mage to see. Gray tried to grab it to hide it under the table, but it was too late, Lucy was already staring down at it.

'Are…are you knitting?' Lucy questioned, stunned. That was something she never thought she would ask the ice mage.

'No!' Gray quickly lied, but he could tell Lucy wasn't buying it. His blood red face didn't help either.

'Is that for Juvia?' Lucy asked eagerly as her eyes lit up. _How sweet!_

'No!' Gray lied again. Lucy didn't buy it again. She leant over the table and picked up the object. Gray cringed at this.

'What exactly is it?' the blonde-haired mage eventually questioned after a long stare at it.

'A scarf of course!' Gray snapped at her, offended, but really he just felt flustered and uneasy. He knew the scarf didn't look good, but it sucked hearing it from someone else. It just confirmed that he had failed. Lucy grinned.

'So you did make it,' she responded, catching the ice mage off guard. Gray stared at her. She did that on purpose. She tricked him into revealing the truth. _Sly!_ Gray folded his arms and Lucy giggled.

'Oh, stop being so stubborn,' she teased him as she sat down on the other side of the table.

'I think it's really sweet what you're doing,' Lucy added with a smile and Gray looked away from her, stubbornly.

'Well, it's not like I'm going to give it to her,' he muttered and Lucy's smile vanished.

'Why not?' she demanded, her voice echoing through the nearly empty guild's hall.

'Not so loud,' Gray moaned at her as he checked that no one was looking at them. He was relieved to see that they went unnoticed.

'Fine, but tell me why not?' Lucy told him and Gray groaned. She wasn't going to drop it.

'Look at it, it doesn't even look like a scarf,' he pointed out. Lucy paused with her response. _That was true_. She wasn't even sure what it looked like, but that wasn't the point.

'It doesn't matter what it looks like, it's the thought that counts,' she responded.

'Yeah, but she's still got to be able to wear it,' Gray put in and Lucy nodded.

'True, but I really think it will mean a lot to Juvia. You have to give it to her,' she encouraged her teammate and he looked at her unsurely.

'Come on, you've been doing so well lately. I mean, first the hat, then all the times you've checked up on her and walked her to the guild and back, and now the scarf. This really will be the cherry on top of everything you've tried to do this last week,' Lucy added and Gray frowned.

'And yet things are still awkward between us,' he muttered without meaning to. He needed to be patient. It had only been a week after all and this wasn't something he wanted to rush.

'That's because you're awkward around her,' the celestial mage pointed out and Gray went blood red.

'I don't mean to be!' he retaliated. He didn't like someone else pointing out that truth. Lucy fought back a giggle. _Poor Gray_. Expressing himself was not his strong point. Lucy smiled tenderly to herself. _But he was trying_. Her tender smile didn't last long when it was interrupted by a loud voice that took both mages by surprise.

'What's that?' Natsu unexpectedly questioned, reaching for the wool scarf on the table. Gray's eyes widened again. _This was bad!_ He and Lucy tried to grab the object before the dragon-slayer could. They weren't fast enough. Natsu now held it in his hands and Gray dreaded what it could lead to.

'Is it meant to be a belt?' the pink-haired mage wondered out loud, wrapping it around his waist. Gray clenched his jaw and Lucy rolled her eyes.

'It's a scarf I'm knitting and I'd like it back,' Lucy told him firmly as she held out her hand. Gray glanced at Lucy with a relieved sigh and smiled gratefully at her. _She was a good friend_. Lucy winked at him in response, determined to keep Gray's secret. Natsu was oblivious to this silent exchange. He stared at what was supposed to be a scarf and frowned. _It didn't make sense_.

'Why are you lying to me?' Natsu suddenly asked Lucy, catching her off guard.

'I know you didn't knit this. You're good at knitting,' he added and Gray's smile disappeared. Lucy stared wide-eyed at the dragon-slayer as she felt her cheeks go hot. She didn't think he was observant in that way, but he noticed something as simple as her knitting. He really didn't make it easy to not feel anything for him.

'Which means,' Natsu muttered, turning his attention to his ice mage teammate. The colour immediately drained from Gray's face. This was what he was dreading.

'Why are you knitting a scarf?' the fire mage inquired. Natsu paused for a moment. _That didn't sound right_.

'Why are you knitting?' he demanded, his voice carrying throughout the hall. That was a more appropriate question. In all the years Natsu had known him, he had never seen Gray even look at wool, let alone knit. Gray turned away from Natsu's penetrating stare. The fire mage was ignorant of his teammate's red face and annoyed expression. Lucy put her hand over her face and shook her head. _That he got!_ If only he was so observant in some other ways. She looked back up at him and saw his face suddenly light up. _Oh no!_ Lucy could only imagine what crazy idea was now going through his head.

'I know!' he exclaimed with a big grin that caused even Gray to forget his embarrassment for a moment and look at his teammate once again. Natsu's excited expression took him by surprise. _What now?_

'You're knitting it as a gift for mine and Lucy's one year coming up!' he eagerly cried. Natsu's words rolled around in Lucy's head and her expression went blank. _That didn't make sense_. Gray looked from Natsu to Lucy with scrunched up eyebrows. It didn't make sense to him either.

'One year of what?' the ice mage questioned and Natsu leant back laughing. _Gray was so oblivious sometimes._

'You're like the only one who doesn't know.' He chuckled out loud. Gray glanced at Lucy's blank face. He was pretty sure Natsu was the only one who knew what he was talking about.

'One year of dating of course,' the dragon-slayer finally responded.

Huh?

 _What!_

Lucy's eyes went big as Natsu's words slowly started to register in her mind and Gray almost chocked on the air he breathed in. _Dating?!_ When? How? Wait! _Almost a year?_ The celestial mage felt her head spin out of control. She waited for Natsu to say he was joking, but he continued to smile on mischievously. _He was telling the truth!_ Gray stared at the grinning fire mage who was completely oblivious to Lucy's stunned reaction. He had no idea. He had no idea he had been in a one-sided relationship for almost a year. Lucy wasn't the only stunned one, Gray couldn't believe it either. _How was this possible?_ The ice mage wanted Lucy to say something, but she couldn't. She was speechless. The colour was drained from her face and she was in complete shock.

'What…when…' Gray tried to ask all the questions racing through his mind. They were all so muddled up. He shook his head, trying to gain control over his mind.

'What…makes you say you're dating? I've never seen you hold hands or call each other boy...boyfriend and girlfriend,' Gray pointed out, finally managing to piece together a sentence. He was attempting to understand Natsu's logic. His friend's grin widened and he placed his hand on Lucy's shoulder. He didn't notice her entire body stiffen.

'Our relationship is more than that. It goes deeper than just words. It is in the way we treat each other and spend time together. We share a special kind of relationship. It's like I said before, she's my favourite kind of food that I love,' Natsu answered with a genuine smile. A small gasped escaped Lucy's lips as tears filled her eyes. She raised her hands to wipe the tears from her stunned face and Natsu noticed this. His smile disappeared and he bent down to stare at her, inches away from her face.

'Lucy, what's wrong?' he demanded. _Goofball!_ He was such a goofball! But…that was something Lucy loved about him. She smiled tenderly at him through her tears and shook her head.

'Nothing. You're my favourite kind of food too,' she softly told him and his smile immediately returned with a slight blush. Lucy fought back all the questions swirling around in her head and focused on this moment. She didn't have the heart to tell him the truth yet, not after what he had just said. All this time of loving him, thinking it was just her, he was loving her right back. In his own typical Natsu way.

'So happy tears?' Natsu asked and Lucy smiled with a nod. Her face suddenly went blood red when he unexpectedly leant his forehead against hers. She didn't flinch away in embarrassment like she usually would. Lucy understood what it all meant now. She still couldn't wrap her mind around how this all happened. But at the same time, it didn't surprise her so much anymore. This was Natsu after all.

Gray looked away from staring at them. He couldn't help but smile after the shock started to go away. _Typical Natsu_. He always did things in his own weird Natsu way, but that's what made him so likable. Gray would never admit that to him. But it was true. And at least Lucy was on the same page as him now. She didn't have to suffer from her unrequited love anymore. Gray looked down at his attempt of a scarf and frowned. Juvia had experienced the same thing as Lucy for so long because of him. _Natsu was right about actions speak louder than words_. But sometimes words were needed too. Lucy and Natsu's whole situation could have been avoided with just a few of the right words spoken.

Gray gripped his fists and stood up, catching the attention of the old-new couple. He didn't say another word to them and walked straight for the guild doors. The ice mage was still stepping between his comfort zone and what needed to be done…needed to be said. He had to move on from that. There was something that Juvia deserved to hear.


	13. Rejuvenated

Juvia sat on a park bench, staring out at the small lake. It was a beautiful sight. The sun glittered on the top of the water while ducks played around. Birds chirped in the high trees around her and a slight breeze brushed over her. It was so peaceful. How Juvia felt inside was not. She was so conflicted. And it wasn't because of Blake. Her heart still ached at times because of how things had ended between them. But she could accept that. It was because of Gray.

The past week had been a whirlwind of unexpecting things. Every time Juvia felt she was ready to begin getting over him, he would do something completely out of character that would make her heart pound and her cheeks go red. It had all started with the hat. She thought he had just come about it by luck, but she found out from Lucy that he had purposely looked for it, going from shop to shop the whole day. He also spent a lot of time checking up on her and making sure she had everything she needed. He never said much. But he was always there. Juvia shifted her feet uneasily at this thought. She didn't know how she felt about that. She paused. That was a lie. She knew exactly how she felt. It made her happy. But it scared her too. She was just learning to re-discover herself and she was afraid of losing that again.

'Nice hat,' a voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts, startling her. She looked back, her heart pounding at the possibility of it being him.

'Gajeel,' she said with raised eyebrows, surprised to see him. He had been gone for the past week.

'I thought you were away on a mission with Levy,' Juvia added and Gajeel nodded, walking around the bench to sit next to her.

'We just got back and were on our way to the guild when I saw you,' he explained, glancing at her watching him.

'I thought you would be there,' Gajeel added and she swiftly looked away from him, avoiding eye contact. Gajeel pressed his lips together. He watched the water mage grip her hands in her lap. She did that when something was bothering her. He didn't have to guess what it was.

'Why have you stayed friends with me all this time?' he suddenly asked Juvia, taking her by surprise. That was a random thing to ask. She glanced at him unsurely, almost expecting him to shrug off the question, but he kept his strong gaze on her. He was being serious.

'Because you're a good friend and you mean a lot to me,' Juvia eventually answered, still not sure where Gajeel was going with this.

'I've always been closed off though, and grumpy, and stubborn,' the dragon-slayer pointed out and Juvia nodded. That was true.

'But you've always been there…' the water mage started to speak, stopping when she finally realized the point her teammate was trying to make. Gajeel proved his friendship by being there for her. Juvia knew someone else like that. Someone as stubborn and as closed off as the iron mage had been. _But he was always there_. Juvia looked away from Gajeel watching her. Was that enough?

'I'm not telling you to give it a try, but don't fight it. Let things happen naturally,' Gajeel spoke again, standing up and forcing Juvia's attention back on him.

'And don't let fear be the reason either, that's when you really lose yourself,' he softly added as he put his hand on her head, surprising her further.

'Like I said, nice hat,' Gajeel casually said and walked away without another word spoken. Juvia watched him disappear down a nearby street, leaving her alone with her thoughts once more. Gajeel had really come a long way from the closed off person he used to be. The water mage turned her attention away from the empty street as the dragon-slayer's words echoed loudly inside her mind. _Nice hate_. She pulled the blue and white hat off her head and stared down at it. She knew Gajeel was right, she was scared. But it wasn't so easy to suddenly push that fear away, not after everything that had happened. She wanted to stay true to herself more than anything. She wanted to be sure. _And she wanted him to be sure_. Juvia knew he was trying, everything he was doing pointed to that. But…there were times where more than just actions were needed.

'Juvia!' a breathless voice suddenly called out to her, taking her by surprise. She turned around, stunned to see a panting Gray standing there. He leant his hands against his knees, trying to catch his breath.

'You never quite know how big this town is until you're trying to find someone in it,' he laughed uneasily through heavy breaths. He was hoping it would ease the tension causing a knot in his stomach. It didn't. And it definitely didn't make Juvia smile. This only made the knot worse. He could easily turn around and walk away. He gripped his fists instead and stood up straight. _No more stepping back into his comfort zone_.

'I owe you a long, overdue apology,' Gray firmly told the water mage, confusing her. She didn't expect that. She had no memory of an incident that needed apologizing for and opened her mouth to respond. She was kept silent by Gray's voice.

'Please let me finish before I lose my nerves,' he quickly said, startling her with his words. She noticed his hands trembling at his sides and her heart started to beat faster.

'This...this isn't easy for me to say because…well…I've always been a closed off person. I found it was easier to survive that way. If I could close off my feelings, if I could lock them away, then I couldn't get hurt again. I got really good at that,' Gray started to speak, pushing passed the wall he had put up for so long.

'Too good,' he muttered as he narrowed his eyes. He had never admitted this to anyone before. He took in an unsteady breath and looked at Juvia.

'You did nothing but love me and put me first always. And what did I do to show my appreciation? I pushed you away over and over again. I was such a jerk and sorry will never be a good enough word to express the ache in my…in my heart for doing that to you,' Gray continued, rushing through his words and pausing all at the same time. Juvia's eyes widened. _There was an ache in his heart_.

'I know it's hard to believe, but I do…love you Juvia…' Gray confessed, hesitating for a moment as he watched her eyes go even bigger. He wanted to hear her response, but he pushed passed his own selfish desires. There was more she deserved to hear first.

'I never wanted to admit that every time I looked at the blue sky, it made me think of your blue hair, or how I would smile at hat shops because I know you love hats so much. Or...that every time I saw water, it reminded me of you. I was just too stubborn,' the ice mage admitted to the stunned water mage. He noticed her cheeks go red and that made his already red face go hotter.

'I'm not trying to make excuses for my behaviour and I don't expect you to love me back. I was such a selfish fool, but I'm telling you this because I want to and because you deserve to finally hear me say how terribly, extremely, completely sorry I am…for everything,' Gray finished off in one breath, expecting to feel awkward. But he didn't. The knot in his stomach was gone and his hands no longer trembled. He stared down at his steady hands with surprise. He felt lighter all of a sudden. The unease, the feeling uncomfortable, it was gone. He stared up in amazement at the blue-haired mage.

'I love you,' he suddenly exclaimed, catching her off guard. He waited for the knot in his stomach to return. It didn't and the ice mage smiled.

'I love you Juvia!' he exclaimed even louder, feeling rejuvenated, and her face went blood red. That was the fourth time he had confessed it and each time sounded more confident than the last. Juvia continued to stare wide-eyed at Gray in silence, trying to register everything he had just said. Here he was, giving her more than just actions. Juvia let out a soft gasp at this realization.

'Gray!' an unexpected voice disrupted the moment as Natsu came rushing over with something in his hands. Gray's face went pale. _No!_ It was the scarf.

'You left the scarf you're knitting at the guild,' Natsu told the ice mage as he held it out. Juvia watched their exchange intensely. _Gray was knitting!_ Something about the scarf was familiar to her.

'You could have just left it at the guild,' Gray muttered as he snatched it from him and tried to roll it into a small enough ball to hide.

'It seemed important to you,' Natsu shrugged as he turned to leave. Gray was sure there was more to it than just that.

'Cheers,' the dragon-slayer added, hiding his sly grin as he walked off. _Good luck Gray_. The ice mage watched Natsu disappear as he still tried to roll up the scarf. It just wouldn't co-operate. Juvia continued to stare at it. It didn't look like much of a scarf. The look of it made sense that Gray was knitting it. The fact that Gray was knitting, didn't make sense. But it seemed to scream out at her, trying to tell her something significant. _Scarf!_ Juvia gasped again as her eyes widened with understanding.

'Is that for me?' she suddenly asked before she could stop herself, startling Gray. Their eyes met and they both started blushing heavily. Juvia didn't mean to blurt that out. She was probably jumping to conclusions and she felt her heart beat faster than it had ever done before. An unexpected nod from Gray calmed her racing heart. _It was for her!_

'I wanted to give it to you next week to mark our three years since we first met,' he reluctantly explained, embarrassed by the appearance of the scarf. Juvia was speechless once more. _He remembered!_ And he was knitting her a scarf. In all of his stubbornness, in all of his closed off manner, here he was, completely exposed to what he had been building a wall against for years. Before Juvia, she watched his wall come crumbling down and smash into her own fears, giving way for feelings she had feared. A wave of emotion rushed through her and she buried her face into her hat.

'Juvia!' Gray cried, startled by the sound of her crying. _No!_ He had sworn not to make her cry ever again.

'Juvia, I'm so sorry. Please don't cry, I'm really sorry,' he quickly told her in a panic. This was not his intention. He immediately calmed down when Juvia shook her head and he was sure he had heard her let out a soft laugh. Gray gazed at her, holding his breath, waiting to know what her reaction meant. Juvia slowly raised her tear-stained face. She was overcome with different emotions, but there was one that stood out above the others. It was so distinct, it helped her with a part of herself she had been struggling to reclaim. Everything from this moment made her realize she was happy to have that part of her back. She felt rejuvenated. She looked up at an anxious Gray and tilted her head slightly with a tender smile.

'Juvia is happy,' she told the ice mage and his eyes went big. The sound of her voice saying her own name once again swept over him and his anxious expression gradually turned into an affectionate smile. He stepped closer and gently laid his hand on the top of her head. She didn't flinch away. His smile widened. Gray was happy too.


	14. A Change Of Heart

'You know!' Juvia cried with surprise.

'You knew!' Lucy cried back, shocked as those sitting at surrounding tables in the guild's hall glanced in their direction. Juvia immediately went blood red.

'Only recently and Juvia is so sorry. Juvia wanted to tell you, but Juvia didn't want to take that moment away from Natsu,' the water mage quickly apologised and Lucy simply shook her head with a tender smile. It was good to hear Juvia say her name again.

'Don't apologize. I think in the end, I found out in the way we would have all expected. I'm not upset,' Lucy assured her, easing the anxiety Juvia felt.

'I've had a few days to fully register it now anyway,' the celestial mage added, no longer overwhelmed by the startling revelation that Natsu believed them to be a couple.

'Did…did you tell him you didn't know,' Juvia hesitantly asked. She was a little surprised when Lucy nodded.

'I eventually did. He was shocked for a whole minute and then simply shrugged it off. We're still celebrating our one year this week,' she giggled. It would have been strange if it was anyone else, but not with Natsu. He had his own special way of doing things. Juvia smiled to herself. It was good to see Lucy so happy. She knew how much the celestial mage loved the dragon-slayer. Juvia felt her cheeks go red as a new thought came to mind and her smile deepened. She was distracted from this by the sound of an excited voice.

'Lucy!' it exclaimed as an eager Natsu entered the guild with Gray and came rushing to her side. Gray and Juvia's eyes met as he started to walk over and they shared a private smile.

'I caught a bigger fish than Gray!' Natsu happily announced as he leant over Lucy from behind, making her blush. Gray's head snapped in the fire mage's direction.

'No you didn't,' he sharply corrected Natsu and the dragon-slayer turned to face him.

'Yes I did,' Natsu retaliated and glared at the ice mage.

'Didn't!' Gray glared back, taking a forceful step forward.

'Did!' Natsu snapped, also taking a forceful step forward until the two were butting heads. Lucy glanced at Juvia and rolled her eyes as the water mage giggled. _Some things never change_.

'Well, where are the fishes then?' Lucy questioned, defusing the tension between the two arguing mages. They stepped a part and both glanced at her blankly before Natsu folded his arms.

'Asuka made us put them back,' he mumbled, sulking and Lucy laughed. Gray glanced at Juvia to see her reaction and found her laughing softly too. His frustration towards the dragon-slayer immediately vanished.

'Don't sulk Natsu, I believe you,' Lucy giggled as she patted his arm sympathetically. Natsu was oblivious to the sarcasm in her voice and his face instantly lit up. He beamed proudly and sat down next to his girlfriend. She held back the desire to laugh as Gray sat opposite the fire mage.

'I'm so hungry,' Natsu announced as he waved his hand at Mirajane behind the counter and she acknowledged him with a smile. Gray leant forward, resting his chin in his hand and rolled his eyes.

'You're always hungry,' he muttered, but Natsu was too distracted with food to hear him. Gray heard a soft giggle next to him and looked at Juvia. Their eyes met and Gray felt his cheeks start to go red. He didn't look away though. That day at the park had opened a new door for them and he wasn't going to do anything to ruin that. They still weren't where Gray hoped for them to be. But that was okay. They were slowly heading in that direction. Juvia was re-discovering herself and Gray was learning to open up more. In the end, they both knew there was only one way their relationship was going to go and they would get there in their own time.

'Lucy try this,' Natsu excitedly said, wanting to give her a taste of the food Mirajane just sent over. Lucy went blood red as Natsu fed it to her, eagerly waiting for her reaction. _And completely clueless of her blushing face_. Juvia heard a laugh next to her and looked at Gray. She glanced down at her lap with a tender expression. She was happy with how things stood between them for now. Gray was patiently waiting as she took time for herself. He gave complete control of their relationship to her. When she was ready, he would be there. And Juvia knew how it would all end. They both did, and they were content with just knowing that for now.

'It's delicious Natsu, thank you,' Lucy eventually responded, wanting to get her boyfriend to stop staring so closely at her. The fire mage leant back with a satisfied smile and continued to enjoy his food. Lucy calmed down and smiled while rolling her eyes. It was true that Natsu had no clue half the time, but his big heart made up for that.

'Thanks,' Gray said to Mirajane as she walked over with four drinks. He took one from the tray she held and turned to Juvia, holding it out to her. She smiled kindly at him and leant forward to take it. She stopped when their hands touched on the glass and looked up at him, blushing. He was blushing too, but he didn't pull away in embarrassment. They just stared at each other for a long moment until Gray gently gave her hands a squeeze. The small gesture took Juvia by surprise, but it also made her smile. It assured her that she was making the right decisions.

Gray smiled back and let go of her glass to grab his own. _She didn't flinch away_. They were making progress. It was slow, but that didn't bother him. He was putting Juvia first. It was always going to be that way from now on. He would never ever again take her for granted. She still wanted time and Gray was happy to give that to her. _It was more than he deserved_. He was getting a second chance and he wasn't going to mess it up. Time didn't matter to him. Juvia did.

Gray glanced yet again at the beautiful water mage. _He did that a lot lately_. Things weren't perfect between them. There were still awkward moments and plenty of blushing. That didn't bother him either. It was only because Juvia was still learning to accept his love. _But she was at least willing to accept it_. And he was always there to remind her that a change of heart is possible.

 **END**

 **I have loved writing this story and I would have loved to carry on with it but time is literally not on my side as life is about to get crazy busy. Thank you for sticking with this story. You are all awesome!**


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